India looking at ‘structured relationship’ with Canada: High commissioner
India High Commissioner to Canada Dinesh Patnaik said the attempt should be to institute such a structured relationship “which does not change despite whatever happens politically”
Toronto: India is looking at a “structured relationship” with Canada that does not get derailed by “extraneous” elements.
This was indicated by India’s new High Commissioner to Ottawa Dinesh Patnaik while addressing the India Insights Forum organised by the Canada-India Business Council (C-IBC) in Toronto on Thursday.
During an interaction, he said the intent was to “have a structured conversation between both sides, a structured relationship” which was “predictable” and “based on regular meetings of the institutional mechanism” and “doesn’t get derailed by anything extraneous to it”.
“Today it’s diaspora politics. Tomorrow it could be geopolitics from the South. It could be some other issue. Don’t let those derail the bilateral relations from going forward. If we can firewall our institutional mechanism from extraneous effects, that is the strength of the relationship,” he said.
He said the attempt should be to institute such a structured relationship “which does not change despite whatever happens politically”.
He pointed out there’s a “plan”, which has been discussed with Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, and different stakeholders. “The plan is there. We need to implement it,” he said.
He pointed towards institutional mechanisms like joint working groups on different aspects including energy, education, nuclear and agriculture, in this context. The result, he felt, would be creating “an atmosphere where things will happen in a predictable manner”.
“What’s important is to get the framework active,” he emphasised.
“It’s a win-win for all if we have a structured, predictable and good relationship,” he said.
At no point during the discussion did Patnaik refer to the pro-Khalistan element in Canada which has influenced politics in the country and hampered bilateral relations.
Those ties, in fact, cratered after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia three months earlier.
India dismissed those accusations were “absurd” and “motivated”. But pressure from the pro-Khalistan fringe continues. A flashpoint could be the outcome of the trial of four Indian nationals who were arrested in spring last year in connection with the killing. That trial in British Columbia is expected to commence in August or later next year.
