Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng has decided to delay a scheduled trade mission to India in October, as confirmed by an official statement on Friday. This decision comes in the wake of increasingly strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, particularly following an incident at the recent G20 summit in New Delhi where India’s Prime Minister reprimanded his Canadian counterpart.
Shanti Cosentino, a spokesperson for the minister, announced, “We are currently postponing the forthcoming trade mission to India,” refraining from providing specific reasons for the delay.”
During the G20 summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held formal bilateral meetings with numerous world leaders but granted only a brief, informal encounter with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines just five days ago.
Canada boasts the largest population of Sikhs outside of their home state of Punjab in India, and this has led to various protests in Canada that have raised concerns in India. India has accused Canada of supporting secessionist movements, inciting violence against Indian diplomats, causing damage to diplomatic facilities, and posing threats to the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship.
In a related development earlier on the same Friday, India announced the suspension of trade talks with Canada. Canada had made a similar declaration earlier this month, citing the need to “assess the situation.”
Just four months ago, both nations had expressed their intention to finalise an initial trade agreement this year.
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