Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian counterpart Mark Carney discussed strengthening bilateral ties during an October 13 phone call, focusing on trade, energy, technology and security. Canadian High Commissioner Christopher Cooter highlighted improving relations and upcoming ministerial visits, expressing hope for a free trade agreement during Modi’s proposed December visit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on Tuesday held a telephonic conversation and agreed to build on the positive momentum in India-Canada ties while working towards concrete outcomes across key areas.
“Had a warm and productive conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney. We agreed to build on the positive momentum in India-Canada ties and work towards concrete outcomes across key areas of our Strategic Partnership, including trade, energy, technology, security and people-to-people ties,” PM Modi wrote on X after the phone call.
“Together, India and Canada are contributing towards a more stable and prosperous world,” he added.
Canadian envoy hails bilateral relations
Earlier in the day, Canadian High Commissioner to India Christopher Cooter termed the chemistry between Prime Minister Modi and his Canadian counterpart as “excellent” and said that the two nations never had as “good a relationship” as they do right now.
In an exclusive interview with IANS ahead of Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand’s official visit to India, Cooter spoke about the recent engagements between the leadership of both countries, including meetings between External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Anand. He also talked about the upcoming visit of Canada’s Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.
High-level engagements strengthen strategic partnership
“I think it is fair to say that we never had as good a relationship as we have right now. Starting at the highest level, the chemistry between our two Prime Ministers is excellent. They have met four times in just over a year. Officials are also meeting regularly. We recently had our National Security Advisor here for discussions with his Indian counterpart, and our Foreign Minister is coming here. This will be her 10th meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister over the past year,” the Canadian High Commissioner told IANS.
