- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The move came nearly two months after India’s foreign minister warned Canada and other partner countries over growing activism of pro-Khalistan supporters on their soil and ahead of PM Justin Trudeau’s visit to India for G20 summit.
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN a surprise move, Canada on Friday (1) said it had stopped talks on a proposed trade treaty with India and it came just three months after the two countries announced that they were looking to seal an initial agreement in the current year.
India and Canada have been talking on and off over the last 13 years about a comprehensive economic partnership deal. The negotiations were formally started last year.
Speaking to the media, an official of the Canada government said on the condition of anonymity that trade negotiations are a long and complex process and Ottawa paused to “take stock” of where they were. The words came ahead of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to New Delhi next week for the G20 summit.
Indian high commissioner to the North American country Sanjay Kumar Verma told The Canadian Press on Friday that the Trudeau government had sought pause “within the last month” but did not give any explanation.
In May, New Delhi and Ottawa said they looked to seal an initial deal in 2023 to increase trade and expand investment while setting out a mechanism to address disputes.
In August, a top trade official from India said New Delhi decided to hold bilateral free trade talks with Canada and other nations on the sidelines of the G20 summit scheduled for September 9 and 10.
On the diplomatic front, the Narendra Modi government expressed its displeasure a number of times over repeated occurrences of anti-India shows on Canadian soil by pro-Khalistan activists.
In July, Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also warned that ties with partner nations such as Canada would be hit if such activism was not reined in after two prominent Indian diplomats in Canada were issued poster threats by the Khalistan sympathisers.
