In light of continuing India-Canada diplomatic rifts, the first high level of acknowledgement of diplomatic communication has been made by the Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly. She has confirmed that she has continued talks with her Indian counterpart Mr. S. Jaishankar. This is the first time, that this kind of official affirmation of having proper communication between the two countries has come into the news.
Though EAM has not responded to anything yet, this can be a seed of hope for the recent crisis between these two like-minded countries. During an interview, when Melanie Joly was asked about the India-Canada crisis, she stated about the continuous communication with her counterpart in India Mr S. Jaishankar. The confirmation can be a potential factor for both countries to have some solutions to this ongoing diplomatic erosion between the both.
Background of the Indo-Canadian crisis
The death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar was in the backdrop of initiating this crisis. The PM of Canada Mr Justin Trudeau in the Canadian parliament accused India of having a direct hand in the killing of Mr. Nijjar. Nijjar is often considered as the leader of the Khalistani movement. Since 2020, Nijjar has been designated as a terrorist by the Indian government. India has refuted the allegation and heated up with the remarks, mentioning Vienna Convention principles. Both the countries have continued with the geopolitical turmoil.
Source: Nikkei Asian Review
India has asked Canada to withdraw dozens of diplomats, otherwise, the Indian government would remove their immunity if they still remained in India. Following the high level of disappointment, 41 Canadian diplomats left India immediately. The diplomatic erosion has become so prominent that India-Canada exchanges, be it economically, be it at the diplomatic level, were almost paused. Many news reports have highlighted the lack of communication would further erode the prosperous relations between the two democracies.
Key takeaways of the statement from the foreign minister
The Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly mentioned the crisis period as ‘India and Canada were facing a difficult moment’. Her way of talking appeared to be the downwarding of the escalation of the diplomatic crisis between New Delhi and Ottawa. Minister Joly also remembered the strong connection between the people of the two countries which is time-tested and has taken some decades to articulate.
FM Joly assured that she and EAM have been continuously in touch since the India-Canada diplomatic crisis ripened up. She mentioned that despite having a difficult phase of this time-tested friendship, India and Canada would not forget the strong economic ties, and cultural exchanges that they have. Any low point in the relationship would harm the people of both countries directly.
Evaluation of the official confirmation
India-Canada ongoing standoff has sparked debate about India and Canada’s strong economic relations in the upcoming future. The two like-minded countries have already strengthened their economic ties, and people-to-people exchanges and are appreciable of their resilience friendly relations. However, the recent escalation of the tension has again brought turmoil between the two democratic countries. The tension started revolving around the death of a Canadian Sikh leader Nijjar, who has been seen as a leader of anti-Indian activities in Canada.
Image source: Air News
The high-profile confirmation from the Canadian end that the diplomatic communications are still alive, has given a cloud of hope among the people of the two countries. In India, there are many Canadian companies who operated for years and have been impacted significantly by this geopolitical turmoil and vice-versa. The recent affirmation of the high-level talk between the foreign ministers of India and Canada can become a potential factor in de-escalating the crisis period between India and Canada.
