Canada will cooperate with China where possible, challenge it where needed: Foreign Minister Anita Anand

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Anand’s trip – which covers India, Singapore and China – underscores Canada’s commitment to advance bilateral ties and deepen cooperation under its Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Anand emphasised that the country’s foreign policy is “grounded in pragmatism”, prioritising the building of relationships with a variety of nations, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

During her visit to Singapore, she sought to reaffirm and deepen ties with one of Canada’s key partners in Southeast Asia.

The trip also carried symbolic significance, as Canada and Singapore are marking 60 years of diplomatic relations this year.

Before arriving in Singapore, Anand made her first official visit to India, where she held talks with her counterpart S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The meetings signalled a thaw in relations between New Delhi and Ottawa, which had been severely strained following the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist leader.

Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had accused India of involvement in the killing on Canadian soil – an allegation strongly denied by New Delhi.

The fallout led both sides to expel senior diplomats and restrict visa services.

India is Canada’s largest source of temporary foreign workers and international students, but a backlog of applications has since accumulated.

During discussions in New Delhi earlier this week, both sides agreed on a roadmap to repair bilateral ties and enhance collaboration in areas such as critical minerals, trade and agricultural value chains.

They also raised the importance of law enforcement dialogue to address security concerns.

Anand said that Canada’s engagement with India begins with “ensuring that public safety and security back at home are top of the agenda”.

“That’s why the joint declaration that we finalised specifically mentions respect for the rule of law, respect for the security dialogue that we have with India on an ongoing basis,” she added.

“At another level, we are ensuring that step by step, we are elevating the relationship with India to include issues relating to trade resilience, issues relating to energy cooperation, issues relating to AI and new technologies, among others.”