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India, Canada Discuss ‘Present State’ of Ties in Munich

Recently, Canada named India as a “foreign threat” that could potentially interfere in their elections, months after they accused New Delhi of playing a role in Nijjar’s killing.

 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday and discussed bilateral ties.

The discussions came amid an ongoing diplomatic row between the two nations with Canada accusing India of killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey last year and the latter denying the charge as “absurd” and “motivated”.

“Our conversation understandably focused on the present state of our bilateral ties. Was also useful to exchange views on the global situation,” Jaishankar wrote on X.

Recently, Canada named India as a “foreign threat” that could potentially interfere in their elections, months after they accused New Delhi of playing a role in Nijjar’s killing.

India categorically denied the allegation and asserted that the “core issue” with Canada is the space it gives to separatists, terrorists, and anti-India elements on its soil.

Earlier, the External Affairs Minister met his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and held a “wide-ranging conversation on global challenges and the pathway ahead”.

The two leaders also reviewed preparations for the next India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations meeting.

He also met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the conference to discuss maritime security in the Red Sea.

“Secretary Blinken highlighted that the respective US and Indian approaches to maritime security in the Red Sea are mutually reinforcing and play important roles in safeguarding economic stability in the region,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement released on Friday.

Miller added that the two leaders also discussed ongoing work to ensure lasting peace and security in the Middle East.

The 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC), which began on Friday, is currently underway at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich.

This year’s conference is being held under the chairmanship of the German Ambassador to the US, Christoph Heusgen.

ALSO READ: Jaishankar Delves into Diplomacy at Munich

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Shared Intel From Five Eyes Helped Trudeau’s Claim: US Envoy

The Canadian government has collected “human and signal intelligence” involving Indian officials, including Indian diplomats present in Canada linking them to killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar

US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen has said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation against India was based on “shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners,” the media reported.

“There was shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners that helped lead Canada to making the statements that the Prime Minister Trudeau made,” Cohen said in an exclusive interview to CTV.

The Canadian government has collected “human and signal intelligence” involving Indian officials, including Indian diplomats present in Canada linking them to killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the media reported.

“Based on a month-long investigation into Nijjar’s death, the Canadian government had amassed both human and signals intelligence which includes communications involving Indian officials themselves, including Indian diplomats present in Canada,” public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported quoting government sources.

Some of the intelligence was provided by an unnamed ally in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, that consists of the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the CBC reported. 

India and Canada are enmeshed in a diplomatic row over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau allegation of involvement of Indian intelligence and the state in the killing of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in June in British Columbia. Nijjar was declared designated terrorist by India in 2020.

India had rejected claims by the Canada government terming them as “absurd and motivated”.

Both countries announced tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats and issued travel advisories.

Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.

ALSO READ: How Khalistan is Forcing Trudeau’s Hand on India Row

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How Khalistan is Forcing Trudeau’s Hand on India Row

Trudeau’s Liberal Party depends on the Jagmeet Singh-led New Democratic Party, which has 24 MPs, for survival.

In political and Indo-Canadian circles here, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in the House of Commons on Monday that India was possibly involved in the gunning down of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are also viewed as his compulsion for his political survival.

Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which with its 157 seats fell short of the majority mark in the 338-member House of Commons in last year’s snap elections, depends on the Jagmeet Singh-led New Democratic Party, which has 24 MPs, for survival.

“Jagmeet, who is a known supporter of Khalistanis and who captured leadership of the NDP by recruiting a huge membership from his supporters, set terms for Trudeau for his support, including more spending on healthcare, free dental care for middle and low-income Canadians, housing support for poor, etc,” said a top Indo-Canadian politician in Vancouver, refusing to be named.

“Just as Khalistanis helped Jagmeet capture the leadership of the New Democratic Party, they also played a major role in Trudeau’s winning the leadership of the Liberal Party. Since both these leaders are in bed with Khalistanis, they are exploiting the alleged intelligence linking India to the murder of Nijjar,” said the Indo-Canadian politician.

After Trudeau’s allegations against India on Monday, Jagmeet Singh had spoken in Punjabi to appeal to his core constituency, promising to get to the bottom of the truth behind Nijjar’s murder.

“Jagmeet is now exacting his pound of flesh from Trudeau, forcing the Prime Minister to up the ante on India’s alleged involvement in the killing of Nijjar. I don’t know where this India-Canada row will end now,” said a Brampton journalist, requesting anonymity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France on Aug 25, 2019. (Photo: IANS/MEA)

Many in the 1.8-millon strong Indo-Canadian community contend that the Indian row is not going to politically benefit either Trudeau or Jagmeet.

“The entire 800,000-strong Hindu community in Canada, which was previously divided in their political loyalties, will now most likely vote for the opposition Conservative Party in the next elections due in 2025. A high percentage of Sikh voters, who are now worried, will also ditch Trudeau’s party. We will have to wait till 2025 before our bilateral ties can possibly improve,” said the Brampton journalist.

ALSO READ: Trudeau puts India, Canada ties on thin ice

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Canada Defers Trade Mission To India

A spokesperson for Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng confirmed the change, though no reason was offered for the delay.

Canada has announced that it would postpone an October trade mission to India, Al Jazeera reported.

A spokesperson for Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng confirmed the change on Friday, though no reason was offered for the delay.

The spokesperson, Shanti Cosentino, said: “At this time, we are postponing the upcoming trade mission to India.”

This comes at a time when negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and Canada have been stalled, sources informed on Friday.

The sources cited “certain political developments” in Canada as the reason for the pause in the negotiations, and added talks will resume once issues are settled between both the governments.

There were reports earlier that the two countries could reach an interim trade deal by the end of this year.

Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng and her Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal in May issued a joint statement saying they hoped to boost trade and investment between their two countries by the year’s end.

But those talks have hit several high-level snags, as per Al Jazeera.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a pull-aside discussion with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit raised “strong concerns” about the continuous “anti-India activities” by extremist elements in Canada.

Prime Minister Modi stated that it was essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.

“The Prime Minister conveyed our strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada. They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship,” said an official statement after the Modi-Trudeau meeting.

While Trudeau was in India for the G20 Summit, Khalistani secessionists held a so-called ‘referendum’ in Surrey, British Columbia.

The separatists used objectionable language against Indian leadership and made remarks against the territorial integrity of India.

Recently, a Hindu temple was vandalised in Canada by extremist elements with Khalistan referendum posters, Australia Today reported.

The incident happened in British Columbia province in Canada.

“#Breaking Another #Hindu temple vandalised in #Canada by #Khalistan extremists – bogus #Khalistanreferendum posters put at door of @surreymandir to create fear among #Indian community,” Australia Today said on Twitter. (ANI)

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India, Canada boost ties with shared vision for Indo-Pacific

Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs met Canadian Foreign Ministry’s Assistant Deputy Ministers Weldon Epp and Alexandre Leveque and shared a vision for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region.

“Secy (East) @AmbSaurabhKumar met Assistant Deputy Ministers in the Canadian Foreign Ministry, Weldon Epp & Alexandre Leveque. Discussed ways to strengthen India-Canada relations & our shared vision for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

Last month, on April 11, India-Canada Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) on April 11 in Ottawa during which both sides discussed contemporary regional issues including the Indo-Pacific region and cooperation in multilateral organizations a statement by the MEA read.

The Indian delegation was led by Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East) in the MEA while the Canadian side was headed by David Morrison, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Global Affairs Canada.

“They welcomed regular dialogue and meetings of bilateral mechanisms, including upcoming Ministerial visits which would help broaden the bilateral agenda,” the MEA said.

“In the context of India’s ongoing G20 Presidency, Canada expressed support for India’s leadership. Both sides will work together to ensure G20’s success,” it added.

The last FOCs were held in March 2022 and according to the official statement, the next FOC will take place in India. Before that the FOCs were held in March 2021 in a virtual mode.

India and Canada share warm relations. In February, Canada’s External Affairs Minister Melanie Joly visited India and met her Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar.

During the India-Canada Strategic Dialogue, both ministers expressed interest in deepening collaboration across domains and looking forward to the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA).

Canada and India have deep ties built on shared democratic values and a long-standing friendship. The wide-ranging bilateral cooperation between Canada and India spans the fields of science and technology, finance, education, defence, and security.

The deep people-to-people connections between Canada and India are at the heart of our relationship. There are 1.8 million Canadians of Indian origin in Canada, and India is the primary source of new immigrants to Canada, the release said.

India and Canada are engaged in technical negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) including trade in goods, services, investment, trade facilitation etc. Separate MOUs exist with implementation mechanisms to advance relations in the fields of energy, mining, agriculture etc. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Canada puts Moosewala murder accused Goldy Brar on most wanted list

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Jaishankar, Jolie discuss trade, connectivity

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday called on the Foreign minister of Canada, Melanie Joly, and held discussions on the G20 agenda and global developments.

The Canadian foreign minister also warned China against supporting Russia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday called on the Foreign minister of Canada, Melanie Joly, and held discussions on the G20 agenda and global developments.

“Wide-ranging conversation with FM @melaniejoly of Canada. Discussed the G20 agenda and global developments. Bilateral issues including trade, connectivity and people-to-people ties,” tweeted Jaishankar. Earlier, at an event in Delhi, Joly took up the issue of the Russia-Ukraine war and called for the isolation of Moscow.

“The paralysis that is affecting particularly the UN Security Council is linked to the war in Ukraine. The more countries send a clear message to Russia, the more we will be able to isolate Russia politically and diplomatically,” said Joly.

She also warned China against supporting Russia, saying, “We should create a movement to get Russia out of Ukraine ultimately and to send a message to China that it is important that ultimately it does not support Russia.”

Meanwhile, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) on Friday reiterated its support for the UN Charter, including the expansion of permanent and non-permanent seats of the 15-member world body.

The Quad Foreign Ministers carried out a comprehensive review of various issues, ranging from Indo-Pacific to ASEAN in a meeting presided by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Yoshimasa Hayashi and US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken attended the meeting held on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue 2023.

Talking about the reforms in United Nations Security Council, the Quad foreign ministers said in a joint statement, “We concur that the rules-based international order is anchored in international law, including the UN Charter, and the principles of sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of all states. We are committed to cooperating to address attempts to unilaterally subvert the UN and international system, in consultation with our partners and through multilateral and international platforms.”

“We reiterate our unwavering support for the UN Charter, including its three pillars, and our steadfast commitment to strengthening the UN and international system through a comprehensive reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent seats of the UN Security Council. In this regard, we commit to active and constructive engagement in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) process on Security Council Reforms with an overall objective of making the UN Security Council more effective, representative, and credible,” it added.

In September last year, a joint statement was issued following a meeting of Quad foreign ministers in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly committed to expanding the UNSC. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Abbott: China uses trade as a weapon

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Two Indian-origin men gunned down in Canada

The two latest victims were shot in broad daylight while sitting in a car in a public place like Ripudaman Malik and as in that incident, a car was also found burning nearby…reports Asian Lite News

Two Indian-origin men have been shot dead in Canada, 10 days after an eerily similar killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who had been acquitted of charges of bombing an Air India plane, according to media reports.

Meninder Dhaliwal and Satindera Gill were killed on Sunday at the British Columbia resort village of Whistler.

The two latest victims were shot in broad daylight while sitting in a car in a public place like Ripudaman Malik and as in that incident, a car was also found burning nearby, according to media reports.

The two incidents, however, have not been linked by officials.

Two persons who have not been publicly identified have been arrested in connection with the latest killings, CTV reported quoting officials.

But there have been no arrests as yet in the killing of Malik.

Ethiopian migrant killed in crossfire on Yemeni-Saudi border

Dhaliwal, along with his brother Barinder, was on a list of six men, four of them of Indian descent, released last year by the Vancouver Police Department which called them “gangsters” who “pose a significant risk to the safety of the public”.

Police Chief Adam Palmer warned while releasing their pictures, “Our police intelligence leads us to believe that the individuals we have identified today may be targeted by rival gang members”.

Dhaliwal was a member of a gang known as “Brothers Keeper” (BK), while Gill was not known to be involved with gangs, the Vancouver Sun reported.

Dhaliwal’s brother was killed last year in April, the newspaper’s website said.

CTV said that the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) confirmed Dhaliwal and Gill had been targeted and the shooting was linked to an ongoing gang conflict in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland region that includes Vancouver.

The Sun said that the BK has been involved in violent conflicts over the years with the gang known as “United Nations” and with some members of “Red Scorpions”.

It said that last year Dhaliwal’s brother Harb was killed outside a Vancouver restaurant when he was with him and Barinder.

Meninder chased the gunman, Francoise Gauthier, and stabbed him in the eye, but did not face charges, it added.

Gauthier admitted last month in a Canadian court to carrying out the murder and was sentenced to life in prison, the Sun reported.

It said that both Meninder and Barinder had been shot several times in the past.

Ripudaman Singh was acquitted on charges linked to the bombing of Air India’s Kanishka that killed all on board the Boeing 747 on a flight from Canada to India in 1985.

Once a supporter of the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement, he later made peace with the Indian government, writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year: “I am writing you this to express my deep heartfelt gratitude for the unprecedented positive steps taken by yourself to redress long-reading Sikh demands and grievances.”

He was taken off the Indian government’s blacklist and granted a visa to visit India in 2019.

ALSO READ: 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing suspect shot dead in Canada

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Indian-origin Anita Anand is Canada’s new defence minister

The two Indo-Canadian women are among six women ministers in the new Cabinet….reports Asian Lite News

Canada’s first Hindu Cabinet minister Anita Anand made history on Tuesday by becoming the country’s second-ever woman defence minister by replacing fellow Indo-Canadian Harjit Sajjan as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his new Cabinet.

Sajjan will be the new minister of international affairs.

Another Indo-Canadian woman Kamal Khera, the 32-year-old MP from Brampton West, also took oath as minister for seniors, taking the number of Indo-Canadian women ministers in the Trudeau Cabinet to three.

The sitting Indo-Canadian woman minister Bardish Chagger, who held the Ministry of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth of Canada, has been shuffled out.

The two Indo-Canadian women are among six women ministers in the new Cabinet.

Trudeau demoted Harjit Sajjan for failing to address the allegations of sexual misconduct in the Canadian military and rewarded Anita Anand and Kamal Khera for their work during the pandemic.

Anand has been praised for her work as procurement minister and Khera – a registered nurse – for going back to work as a health-care provider at the peak of the pandemic. A three-time MP since 2015, Khera has also served as a parliamentary secretary to the ministers of health and international trade.

Anita was born in 1967 in Nova Scotia to Indian parents who were both medical professionals. Her mother Saroj D. Ram came from Punjab and father S.V. Anand from Tamil Nadu.

Anita, who is on leave as a professor of law at the University of Toronto, was picked up as minister of public service and procurement by Prime Minister Justin in 2019 after her election as MP from Oakville near Toronto.

Anita assisted the Air India Inquiry Commission with extensive research. The commission investigated the bombing of Air India Kanishka Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, that killed all 329 people on board.

The bomb that exploded on board the Montreal-Delhi flight was planted by Vancouver-based Khalistanis to avenge the military action at the Golden Temple a year earlier in 1984.

Before Anita Anand, Canada’s only woman defence minister was former Prime Minister Kim Campbell who held the portfolio for six months from January 4 to June 25 in 1993.

ALSO READ: Canada and Germany publishes $100bn annual climate finance roadmap