Canada and India have agreed to advance shared priorities, focusing on strengthening economic prosperity, security, and global governance, following a meeting between their foreign ministers at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

This meeting marks a significant step in rebuilding and expanding bilateral ties between the two countries after recent tensions.

The foreign ministers, India's S Jaishankar and Canada's Anita Anand, discussed enhancing bilateral ties building on productive discussions held earlier this year between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in Kananaskis. Both ministers welcomed the appointment of high commissioners — India's Dinesh Patnaik in Ottawa and Canada's Christopher Cooter in New Delhi — which helps facilitate trade, investment, and dialogue.

Canada underlined its commitment to growing commercial ties, highlighting cooperation in sectors such as agricultural products, critical minerals, and energy. Analysts see the current diplomatic engagement as maintaining momentum in resetting relations, though tangible progress on economic and commercial fronts is still needed. Security cooperation is strengthening, exemplified by recent high-level visits on security and intelligence by Canadian and Indian officials.

Despite this positive trajectory, challenges remain, particularly India's concerns regarding pro-Khalistan separatist activities in Canada and Canada's worries over alleged transnational repression. The relationship had worsened after Canadian allegations in 2023 linking Indian agents to the killing of a pro-Khalistan figure in Canada, which India denied. However, this reset has gained traction since Mark Carney became the Canadian Prime Minister earlier in 2025 and after his re-election, with ongoing dialogues to rebuild trust.

Anita Anand is expected to visit India in the latter half of October 2025, with her itinerary also likely to include China and Singapore, continuing Canada’s efforts to deepen engagement across the Indo-Pacific region.

The Canada-India foreign ministers’ meeting at the UN General Assembly reaffirms a mutual intent to strengthen economic and security cooperation alongside efforts to overcome past bilateral tensions, potentially unlocking substantial growth in trade and strategic partnership areas going forward.

Agencies