Canada and India restore ties, appoint new ambassadors

 Ottawa, Aug 29 – India and Canada have appointed new high commissioners to each other’s capitals, restoring diplomatic ties 10 months after expelling their top envoys over a political assassination dispute.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced that veteran diplomat Christopher Cooter will serve as Canada’s new high commissioner to India. Meanwhile, India’s foreign ministry said its current envoy to Spain, Dinesh Patnaik, will soon be posted to Ottawa.

Relations between the two countries soured in June 2023 after Canadian police accused India of involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, near Vancouver. Four Indian nationals living in Canada have since been charged with his murder. India has rejected the allegations, while former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused New Delhi of violating Canada’s sovereignty.

Tensions began to ease in June this year when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta, and both sides agreed to reinstate their senior diplomats.

The Nijjar killing also sparked wider concerns, as the U.S. Justice Department separately charged an Indian government official last year in connection with an alleged plot to kill a Sikh separatist in New York. India, for its part, has long criticized Canada for allowing pro-Khalistan groups to operate freely.

Cooter, who has 35 years of diplomatic experience with postings in Israel, South Africa, and India, will now return to New Delhi in his new role.

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