India, Canada Signal Push to Elevate Ties After Jaishankar-Anand Talks
S. Jaishankar met Canadian counterpart Anita Anand at the UN General Assembly, with both sides signalling a push to deepen ties and trade talks.
India and Canada are working to lift their relationship to a higher level, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar indicated after a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
Describing the conversation as productive, Mr. Jaishankar said the two sides were preparing to elevate the relationship. The talks took place on the sidelines of the annual UN gathering.
Earlier in the week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told a press conference at the UN that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to Canada around December. Mr. Carney said Ottawa was making good progress in trade negotiations with India, describing the relationship as exceptionally important across people-to-people, security, trade and economic dimensions.
He was responding to questions on the timing of Mr. Modi's visit and on how close Ottawa was to concluding a free trade agreement with India, known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The diplomatic engagement comes ahead of a G20 Summit that U.S. President Donald Trump will host on December 14-15 at the Trump National Doral Miami resort in Doral, Florida.
On the UNGA sidelines, Mr. Jaishankar also met Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Felix Plasencia Gonzalez. He said energy ties between the two countries were gaining momentum alongside other areas of bilateral cooperation, and that current regional issues were discussed.
The external affairs minister also held meetings with Belarus Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov and Mexican counterpart Roberto Velasco Alvarez.