Positive momentum expected following reset in India-Canada ties: Experts

Hindustan Times

7 hours ago

Kananaskis, Canada: Those engaged in the India-Canada corridor are hopeful that another inflection point has been arrived at, a positive one this time after a productive bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart and host Mark Carney on Tuesday on the margins of the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis.
'India and Canada have following a pragmatic script this year towards normalising the broken political relationship. On the margins of the G7 Summit, the two PMs pressed the reset button, in essence allowing robust economic ties to drive the political ones,' Ajay Bisaria, former Indian High Commissioner to Ottawa felt.
Among the issues addressed was filling the vacant posts of High Commissioners in the two capitals and Bisaria said that 'should enable a step-by-step move towards stabilisation of ties and then perhaps building back a better strategic partnership, guided by economic and geopolitical interests and future- proofed against security shocks'.
Also enthusiastic about the positivity flowing from the meeting was Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada. He said, 'It's a very good day. Exactly the right steps to reset and restore constructive bilateral relations.'
Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president research and strategy at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, said, 'Good to have a clear signal from the two leaders to reset the relationship and deepen cooperation at a time when both countries are hoping to diversify economic and strategic partnerships.'
She said the meeting and its outcome represented 'a significant moment' which sets the stage for follow up action at the level of officials and ministers.
She described it as 'positive on substance and symbolism', marking 'remarkable progress' that 'would have been hard to imagine even a few months ago.'
Ritesh Malik, chair of the Canada-India Foundation also welcomed the outcome, as he said 'this could be the big reset moment on many important unresolved issues'.
'Commitment to mutual respect, territorial integrity and sovereignty is just the foundation on which this relationship can only grow leaps and bounds,' he added.