New Delhi: Amid Canada postponing Trade mission to India due to heightened diplomatic tension between the two nations, which was scheduled on October this year, India's former high commissioner to Canada Ajay Bisaria in an exclusive interview told ETV Bharat that it is a "setback to the political relations". He said that with Trudeau's visit, the political relationship has taken a hit but on areas of economic relations, immigration from India and education corridor every aspect is quite robust.
Bisaria has served as the High Commissioner of India to Canada from March 2020 to June 2022. "This a temporary setback and the situation will normalize in due course of time because the Khalistani issue has been in the relationship not just now but over the last four decades. It is an irritant in the relationship and frequently a deal breaker on a lot of issues", he added.
"I don't see this as a very dramatic breakdown in relations but it is a temporary setback and both the nations will have to find a way of getting over it", Bisaria said.
Canada has put on hold a trade mission to India which was planned for October this year amid strained ties between the two nations. This comes after Canada placed a pause on the Early Progress Trade Agreement or EPTA in August and also amid concerns over Pro-Khalistan.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng confirmed the postponement of the trade deal without citing any reason for the delay. She said, “At this time, we are postponing the upcoming trade mission to India,” the spokesperson, Shanti Cosentino, said.
It is pertinent that the Canadian Trade minister was set to visit Mumbai on October 9 with Canadian business leaders to form ties with their counterparts, for a five-day trip known as the Team Canada trade mission.
Further, commenting on PM Narendra Modi pulling Trudeau aside to criticize Canada's handling of the Khalistani issue on the sidelines of the G20 summit, India's former high commissioner to Canada said, “Much of Trudeau's politics is determined by domestic vote bank politics in the vested issue. I don't think he was anyway treated wrongly during the G20 because India's diplomacy is very smart".
"In all relationships, one has tough issues. I would call it a temporary setback given the optics of the relationship, no different from the bigger setback we had in 2018 after his last visit to India. Again there was a setback when Trudeau spoke on the farmer protest in 2020. Therefore, it is a periodic thin,g and yet the relationship continues because Canada declared the Indo-Pacific strategy aligned with India and India gave half a million vaccines to Canada. It is a strong robust partnership and there will always be temporary political setbacks and that is part of the game”, Bisaria told ETV Bharat.
He noted that both sides have had an intense discussion in the last 2 years on reviving the trade talks but now Canada has declared a pause, which is an example of the current political setback also hitting the trade adding "better sense will prevail next year and both sides will go ahead with the agenda too".
The relations between India and Canada took an ugly turn when India issued a strongly worded statement following a meeting between PM Modi and Canadian PM Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20. According to the statement issued by India's Ministry of External Affairs, PM Modi conveyed strong concerns to Trudeau about anti-India activities being carried out by Khalistani extremists in Canada.
“They are promoting seccessionism and inciting violence against the Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premise, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship”. MEA said. However, in response, a press statement by Trudeau's office said that the Canadian PM had raised the importance of respecting the rule of law , democratic principles and national sovereignty during his meeting with PM Modi. '
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At a press briefing after the meeting, Trudeau said, “Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom of peaceful protest, and it’s extremely important to us”. According to reports, Canada had, on September 1, also paused the Early Progress Trade Agreement, three months after the two nations said they aimed to seal an initial agreement this year.
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