A Reset that is very welcome!

India’s ties with Canada have not always been what they ought to be. They should have always been warm, friendly and substantive. It is a matter of irony that they have not always been that way. Which is why the visit of Canada’s Foreign Minister Ms Melanie Joly to Delhi on February 6 must be welcomed by all well-wishers of this relationship. The fact that Ms Joly undertook this visit when she could have easily combined her talks with her Indian counterpart in March when she is due again in Delhi for the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting, is evidence of Canadian sincerity to “reset” the ties which ran the risk of languishing.

In the event, the visit by the Canadian FM went well and has managed to begin a process of “reset” in ties which were clearly beginning to fray. The first thing it did was to re-establish the strategic dialogue between the two sides which is so crucial to avoid misunderstanding. Second, Canada did a smart thing by releasing its Indo-Pacific strategy in November last year well before the current visit, leading the Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to “welcome” it. Canada as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy called China an increasingly “disruptive power”, which will not have gone unnoticed in Delhi. India will also need Canada’s cooperation for a successful G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023 and support for the same was readily provided by the visiting Canadian FM. Canada’s increasing naval presence in the Indo-Pacific will also be welcomed by India. The eventual goal should be to have Indo-Canadian joint naval exercises in the Indo-Pacific if all goes well. After all, Canada and India do share a common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, anchored in the shared values of democracy, pluralism, and the rule of law.

The ballast for the relationship, hitherto sorely lacking, will come hopefully from the conclusion of the Early Progress Trade Agreement. The operative word here is “early”. The Political leadership in both countries will need to monitor progress in this regard and give the negotiations some push, if need be. Leaving it entirely in the hands of the mandarins of both countries would run the risk of inordinate delay, which is clearly not in the interest of either Canada or India. It is also noteworthy that Canada can be a reliable supplier of rare earths/critical minerals, a strong partner in India’s green transition and a major investor in India.

There is no gainsaying the fact that people-to-people ties are central to the Indo-Canadian relationship. The Canadian statement therefore speaks of facilitating mobility and migration between the two countries, which is very welcome. Not too many Western countries will speak openly of “facilitating” migration from India, and this must be noted positively by us. That said, we do not know whether the elephant in the room (the Khalistani issue) was raised and if so, how the discussions went. It must be hoped that there was a frank discussion on this issue with clear “guardrails” erected so that the relationship does not get derailed when something goes wrong in this regard. It would be useful if Canada outlined what it could do in this regard and what it cannot, because it is not clear that most people in India understand the contours of the problem. More importantly, if India can be alerted in advance of any adverse development in this regard, it would help both countries manage the situation better. The key is to avoid any unpleasant surprises which can potentially thwart progress in the bilateral ties.

The Indo-Canadian relationship has for too long been underwhelming and in a spiral of self-fulfilling prophecy on both sides, has been characterised by one step forward and two steps backward. It is imperative to put this behind and take the relationship forward. It is great that Ministerial visits are happening ahead of the visit of Canadian PM Trudeau for the Delhi G20 Summit in September 2023 which could provide the perfect opportunity for the two leaders to reset the relationship, making up for lost time!