India, Canada plan to take ties to a higher level after UNGA talks

India and Canada are preparing to take their relationship "to a higher level", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said after a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The remarks came as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada around December this year, and that Ottawa is making "good progress" in its trade negotiations with India.

In a post on X on Saturday, Jaishankar said, "Always a pleasure to meet FM @AnitaAnandMP of Canada #UNGA81 A productive discussion as we prepare to take the relationship to a higher level."

At a press conference on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UNGA, Carney said, "We are making good progress in our trade negotiations with India. It is an exceptionally important relationship on many many levels, people-to-people levels, security levels, and also trade and economic." He was replying to questions on when Modi would visit Canada and how close Ottawa was to concluding a free trade agreement, called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with India.

The US President Donald Trump will host the G20 Summit on December 14-15 at the Trump National Doral Miami resort in Doral, Florida.

On the sidelines of the UNGA, Jaishankar also met Venezuela Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia Gonzalez amid discussions in India on diversifying its energy sources. After the meeting, he said, "Our energy ties are gaining momentum, besides other areas of bilateral cooperation. We also discussed current regional issues."

He also met Belarus Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov and Mexico's Roberto Velasco Alvarez during the UNGA meetings.

The meetings at the UNGA came as India and Canada signalled a push to deepen ties, while India also held discussions with other countries on energy and wider bilateral cooperation.