Washington, May 25 (IANS) India and Canada have moved from an “antagonistic” phase to an “extremely friendly” one, with security agencies, political leadership and businesses now working closely together, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh K. Patnaik, said in an exclusive interview to IANS.

“The relationship really changed in the last few months from being antagonistic to being extremely friendly. Right now things are going well,” Patnaik told IANS in an interview ahead of the visit of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, which he described as marking “the beginning of a new phase” in bilateral ties.

Calling it the “biggest delegation ever”, Patnaik said more than 100 Indian businessmen were expected to arrive alongside Goyal for meetings with Canadian industry groups, pension funds, banks, logistics companies and diaspora leaders.

“The very fact that this meeting is taking place is the success of the story,” he said. “Even one year back one wouldn’t have imagined an Indian minister coming with a hundred plus delegation to Canada.”

According to the High Commissioner, Goyal’s visit is aimed at accelerating economic engagement and pushing forward negotiations on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

“His main thing in coming in is to first of all say that we are now going to ramp our economic and commercial relationship very high up,” Patnaik said.

He added that the minister’s visit was also intended to “give a political push” to CEPA negotiations and “signal that relationships are back to normal”.

Patnaik said bilateral trade currently stood at about 32 billion Canadian dollars, or nearly 25 billion US dollars, with both countries aiming to double it over the next five years.

“We are hoping to reach about 50 billion US by 2030 or 2031,” he said.

The envoy said both governments had “put aside the problems of the past” and restored cooperation across sectors, particularly on security.

“The national security advisors had come and gone. They have had discussions. The agencies are talking to each other. The police forces are talking, the investigating agencies are talking,” he said.

He said both sides were now focused on ensuring “Canada is safe for India, and India is safe for Canada”.

Referring to extremist and criminal networks linked to pro-Khalistan elements, Patnaik said Canada had begun recognising the issue as its own domestic challenge.

“What we have managed in the last six months or seven months to do, and thanks to the close assistance of the Canadian side, especially Prime Minister Carney, is to again put them on the fringe, marginalise them,” he said.

“They’re (extremists) making money out of it. It became a thing, which is more of an economic activity than an ideological activity,” he added, citing “gun running, drug smuggling, people trafficking, extortion” and organised crime.

Patnaik identified energy, critical minerals, fertilisers, AgriFood, AI, quantum research and defence cooperation as major growth sectors.

On immigration, he acknowledged that recent Canadian policy changes had affected many Indians but insisted there was “no negativity about India”.

“They allowed the immigration system to be hijacked by people who could misuse it,” he said. “They’re trying to work out a system where they can get the benefit of good immigration without allowing the bad immigration to come in.”

“Indians need not worry,” he added. “People here have a good opinion of them.”

India-Canada relations deteriorated sharply in 2023 after former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged potential Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India rejected the allegations as “absurd” and accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements.

In recent months, both countries have moved to stabilise ties through diplomatic engagement and renewed security dialogue. Trade, energy cooperation and people-to-people links remain central pillars of the relationship, with Canada hosting one of the world’s largest Indian diaspora communities.

–IANS

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