New Delhi: India and Canada on Monday (October 13) agreed to resume ministerial-level discussions on trade and investment based on “today’s realities” and to increase the staffing of their diplomatic missions, which had been reduced during the past two years of strained relations.

The joint statement – the first high-level bilateral document between the two countries in seven years – outlined a slew of decisions, including the plan to resume high-level talks on trade and investment. The statement was issued after discussions between external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and visiting Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand.

Earlier in the morning, Anand had also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The process of normalisation of diplomatic relations began when Modi met his Canadian counterpart, Prime Minister Mark Carney, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, in June this year. It was followed by both countries reinstating high commissioners in each other’s capitals. 

Both sides had issued separate readouts of the meeting. The last major joint statement released by India and Canada was during the visit of then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to India in 2018.

Stating that the joint statement will lay out “mutual plans for re-engagement”, Canada’s Anand stated that it would “inform Canadians and Indians alike that we are collectively committed to advancing this relationship now and in the long term, particularly when it comes to our mutual priorities in the Indo-Pacific”.

The roadmap detailed out in the ministerial joint statement stated that the two sides agreed to “commence, at an early date, ministerial-level discussions on bilateral trade and investment informed by today’s economic realities and each country’s strategic priorities.”

Following the meeting between the two prime ministers in June, India had said that the leaders discussed “restarting the stalled negotiations on the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), with a view to paving the way for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).”

However, the discussion between the ministries mentioned in the joint statement does not refer to resuming negotiations on the trade agreement but to a broader dialogue. Diplomatic sources told The Wire that talks on the trade pact “remain on the agenda but would need to start afresh as we have moved from our positions over the last 10 years.”

The renewed focus on trade cooperation comes at a time when both India and Canada are facing the heavy brunt of US President Trump’s tariff measures.

Jaishankar told Anand that India and Canada “seek to de-risk the international economy today by forging strong partnerships of growing range and depth.” He said that when India looks at Canada, it sees “a complementary economy, we see another open society, we see diversity and pluralism, and we believe that that is the basis for a close, sustainable and long-term cooperative framework.”

The two ministers also agreed that their diplomatic missions would “strengthen institutional capacity by progressively deploying expertise in the economic, political, defence, and technology domains” to deliver on the shared agenda.

The decision to expand diplomatic staffing comes after a two-year period in which both countries had sharply curtailed their presence in each other’s capitals. Diplomatic ties had plunged in 2023 after Trudeau accused Indian officials of involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India dismissed the allegation as “absurd” and “politically motivated,” triggering a cycle of retaliatory actions that pushed relations to their lowest point in decades.

Following the accusations, both countries expelled senior diplomats, and Ottawa withdrew more than 40 of its personnel from India after New Delhi demanded “parity” in diplomatic representation. This had led to Canada curtailing its visa services especially in its consulates.

In 2024, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police claimed it had gathered evidence linking Indian government agents to “widespread violence” in Canada. The claim prompted both governments to declare each other’s top diplomats persona non grata in October, leaving the posts vacant.

Two weeks later, Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison told a parliamentary committee that he had confirmed to a US newspaper that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah was “involved” in the alleged plot to kill Canadian nationals — remarks that India rejected as “absurd” and “baseless.”

Throughout this period, India maintained that its primary concern was the political space extended to Khalistani groups in Canada, repeatedly criticising Ottawa for what it viewed as permissiveness toward separatist activity. Canada, for its part, said that its response was guided by constitutional protections of free expression, provided such activity did not amount to incitement to violence.

At a press conference in June, Canadian PM Carney said he had raised the importance of law enforcement and tackling transnational repression during meeting with Modi.

Jaishankar said that the meeting of national security advisors held last month in New Delhi “was an important first step towards enhancing our security cooperation.”

Anand also referred to the issue, saying she appreciated Jaishankar’s comments on the security dialogue. “That meeting was very productive and that dialogue will continue,” she said.

In their public remarks and in the joint statement, there was no direct reference to the Khalistan issue or the Nijjar case — a deliberate effort, particularly on the Indian side, to avoid public discourse on the matter that could risk overwhelming the broader bilateral relationship.

Recently, Canada designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist organisation. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had previously alleged that Indian diplomats had used members of the Bishnoi gang to target opponents in Canada, an accusation dismissed by India.

New Delhi’s reaction to the Canadian move was muted. Asked about it earlier this month, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that “security cooperation is also an important item and agenda of continuous bilateral collaboration.” He added that “transnational organised crime” remained a concern for both countries.

The joint statement also laid out a broad roadmap to revive engagement across trade, energy, technology, and education. Among the measures announced was the decision to “resume the Canada-India CEO Forum,” which will bring together business leaders from both countries to identify practical steps to expand commercial ties in clean technology, infrastructure, agri-food and digital innovation.

The two sides also agreed to re-establish the Canada-India Ministerial Energy Dialogue “at the earliest,” to deepen cooperation on “clean, secure, and equitable energy collaboration.” This will include work on LNG and LPG trade, collaboration on green hydrogen, biofuels, carbon capture and electric mobility, and a Critical Minerals Annual Dialogue to be held in Toronto in March 2026.

On climate action, the statement said both countries will “increase bilateral cooperation on climate action, environmental protection and conservation,” with collaboration in areas such as renewable energy capacity, decarbonising heavy industries, reducing plastic pollution, and promoting sustainable consumption.

The two ministers also announced plans to relaunch the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee to strengthen ties in innovation and artificial intelligence. Canadian AI firms and researchers will be invited to participate in India’s AI Impact Summit scheduled for February 2026.

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