New Delhi: The strain in India-Canada relationship is a “difficult moment” but Ottawa is confident that both the countries will be able to get through this difficult period, said Foreign Minister of Canada Melanie Joly on Thursday, while noting that she is in close contact with her Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Both the leaders are in talks about the India-Canada relationship within the Indo-Pacific, she said.
Joly made the statement during a virtual news briefing on her participation in the recent G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Tokyo.
"When it comes to India, I have mentioned it many times… I am in close contact with my counterpart, S Jaishankar and we know this is a difficult moment in a relationship that spanned decades, so, therefore, I am confident that we will be able to get through this difficult period, as we know that we have many interests also that we can work together in common,” Melanie told reporters .
Joly's statement has come amid the rift in the India-Canada relations. The India-Canada ties hit an all-time low after Canadian prime minister Trudeau alleged of India's link into the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Nijjar was declared a terrorist by the Indian government in 2020. India had strongly refuted Trudeau’s claims, calling it ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’ while Canada is yet to provide any public evidence to support its claims about Nijjar's killing.
Jaishankar earlier told in Delhi that there is always room for diplomacy and both the countries are in touch to resolve the escalating tensions.
On November 8, the general house of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) passed a resolution urging both India and Canada to resolve the existing relations. The resolution stated that the Sikhs and Punjabis are facing hate propaganda due to the existing situation.
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