Canada Hits Pause On Trade Mission To India After Tensions At G20 Summit, According To Indian Offcials

According to Indian officials, Canada has canceled an October trade mission to India amid tense relations between the two nations.

On Friday, a Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng representative acknowledged the adjustment but did not explain the delay.

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

Earlier in the day, anonymous Indaian officials told reporters that trade talks had been halted owing to concerns over “political developments in Canada.”

Ng and her Indian colleague, Piyush Goyal, released a joint statement in May, saying they planned to increase trade and investment between their two countries by the end of the year.

However, those conversations have met multiple high-level stumbling blocks. Last weekend’s Group of 20 (G20) conference in New Delhi saw Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opt out of a formal bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which many saw as a snub.

Modi also confronted Trudeau on Canada’s handling of recent Sikh protests.

Amid tense relations between the two nations, Canada has canceled an October trade mission to India.

In June, videos showed a contentious parade float in Brampton, Ontario, patterned after Indira Gandhi’s death. Her Sikh bodyguards assassinated the former Indian prime minister in 1984 after she ordered military action against Sikh separatists at the Golden Temple in the province of Punjab.

The parade float infuriated the Indian authorities, which labeled it a promotion of separatist violence.

The Indian government reaffirmed its “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities” in Canada in a news release issued following Modi’s meeting with Trudeau on Sunday.

According to the press statement, “extremist elements” in the country were “inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada.”

Amid tense relations between the two nations, Canada has canceled an October trade mission to India, says Indian officials.

However, after his election in 2014, Modi has been accused of presiding over a rising wave of hardline Hindu nationalism in India, while minority groups in the country have expressed alarm about risks to their human rights.

Meanwhile, Canada has the largest Sikh population outside of Punjab. Separatists among them aspire to establish an independent Sikh state named Khalistan in northern India.

Trudeau, for his part, has defended Canadians’ right to “freedom of expression, conscience, and peaceful protest,” yet he has stated that he will “push back” against “hatred.”

He also brushed aside the magnitude of the protests. “It is important to remember that the actions of a few do not represent the entire community or Canada,” he stated.

However, the debate has harmed Indian-Canadian relations. On September 1, Canada announced a surprising stop in trade treaty discussions, which Indian authorities echoed in press remarks on Friday.

Trade talks between the two countries have been ongoing on and off since 2010.

SOURCE – (AlJ)