'We Seek To De-Risk International Economy': Jaishankar At Meeting With Canadian FM Anita Anand

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that India-Canada bilateral relations have been steadily progressing in the last few months and work is on to restore and reinvigorate the mechanisms necessary to advance the partnership.

Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday. "Our meeting today continues the constructive conversations that we have been having since our telephone call on May 26," he said.

The Minister said India views Canada as a complementary economy and an open society, with diversity and pluralism, which is the foundation for a close, sustainable and long-term cooperation between the two nations.

Ambitious Roadmap To Advance Partnerships: Jaishankar

"Minister, let me also say that both sides for our meeting today have prepared an ambitious roadmap to advance our cooperation in various domains, including trade, investment, agriculture, science and technology, civil nuclear collaboration, Artificial Intelligence (AI), critical minerals, and energy. I am glad that the two High Commissioners have assumed their responsibilities in our respective capitals and are part of today's meeting. This is our High Commissioner with whom you have spoken," he said.

Jaishankar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pointed out during his meeting with Prime Minister Carney in Kananaskis that India's approach is to move forward with a positive mindset. "This morning you have met the Prime Minister, you have heard from him personally about our vision of cooperation and how best to realise it. I should also take note of the fact that our National Security Advisers and their teams had a productive meeting on September 18 in New Delhi, which was an important first step towards enhancing our security cooperation. Our Foreign Ministries, at the level of Secretary and Deputy Minister, also met on September 19 to review the overall relationship. Our Trade Ministers spoke very recently, actually on October 11.

Jaishankar Calls For Stronger Pacts

Jaishankar said as Foreign Ministers their responsibility should be to deliver on the expectations of the PMs and interests of the people of India and Canada. "Our responsibility as Foreign Ministers is to shepherd the process of rebuilding our cooperation and to ensure that it delivers on the expectation of our Prime Ministers and the interests of our people. It means not only taking initiatives in our particular jurisdiction but to monitor and integrate interactions across the entire breadth of the government. I look forward to doing so, working closely with you," he said.

The Minister said that India and Canada share a long tradition of being active in world affairs and Anand's visit affords an opportunity to review the global scenario and exchange perspectives.

"We are members of the G20 and the Commonwealth. Our convergences in the Indo-Pacific are notable. We are strong proponents of effective multilateralism, climate action and SDG Agenda 2030. We seek to de-risk the international economy today by forging strong partnerships of growing range and depth," Jaishankar added.

PM Carney Was Pleased To Welcome PM Modi In Kananaskis: Anand

Minister Anita Anand is also scheduled to meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. She will travel to Mumbai, where she will meet Canadian and Indian firms working to support investment, job creation and economic opportunity in both the nations.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister Anand said, "We are so grateful to be able to further the Canada-India relationship with you here in New Delhi today. I want to first and foremost extend my appreciation to you for the conversation that you and I have had since I was appointed as Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs on May 13."

She said that Prime Minister Carney was pleased to welcome Prime Minister Modi to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, where they had a productive bilateral engagement that informs the conversation we are having here today. "Today, we'll be discussing the India-Canada Joint Statement, which is comprehensive and covers a number of issues that will allow us to continue the work to elevate the bilateral relationship," she said.

"I appreciate the words you spoke relating to the security dialogue, which, while we elevate the relationship in areas of critical minerals, energy, AI, and climate, to name a few, will continue. The meeting that our officials had relating to security and law enforcement just a few weeks ago here was very productive, and that dialogue will continue. Both of our governments agree on the importance of those dialogues," Minister Anand added.

She is set to visit Singapore and China from India.

(With agency inputs)

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