By Vipal Monga
TORONTO–Trade talks between Canada and India remain stalled with no indication of when they’ll resume amid a diplomatic rift that occurred when Canada accused India of being involved in the Vancouver killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, say Canadian and Indian officials.
But there are signs of improvement in the bilateral relationship which has been strained since September when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused India of being involved in Nijjar’s killing, the officials say.
Trade negotiations “continue to be paused,” Canada’s trade minister Mary Ng said in an interview with Canada’s CTV network, adding that she will meet with India’s trade minister at a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Abu Dhabi later this week.
Canada has named India a priority market for its exports. India was its 10th largest trading partner in 2022 with Canada’s imports from India totaling $6.4 billion and exports totaling $4.1 billion, according to the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Canada unexpectedly paused trade negotiations with India in September, weeks before Trudeau announced in parliament that Canada had evidence that agents with ties to India were involved in Nijjar’s murder.
India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, said in an interview that India had no indication of why trade talks were halted and the country is waiting for Canada to decide if it wants to resume negotiations.
“Whenever Canada says it wants to unpause, then we’ll reconsider,” said Verma, who noted that India is a big market for Canadian metallurgical coal, lentils, and potash.
India has denied Canada’s allegations about its involvement in Nijjar’s killing. India hasn’t received any update from Canadian officials on the state of its investigation, Verma said, adding that conversations over the Nijjar affair were continuing.
Foreign ministers of both countries met at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.
Canada is taking India’s concerns about Sikh activists calling for the separation of India more seriously, he said. India has said such activity threatens its sovereignty and territorial integrity and has asked Canada to curb the protests.
“There is a sense of seriousness and sincerity on the Canadian side,” Verma said.
Write to Vipal Monga at [email protected]
Corrections & Amplifications
This article was corrected at 0005 GMT to reflect that Canada and India Trade Talks Remain Stalled. The original headline omitted the word ‘talks.’
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