Toronto: Despite the recent setback to bilateral ties due to a controversial float depicting the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Canada is continuing its engagement at the G20, being hosted this year by India.
Canada’s Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada Harjit Sajjan participated in the three-day G20 Development Ministers meeting in Varanasi and also visited New Delhi.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Sajjan thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for welcoming the Canadian delegation to the city in Uttar Pradesh. “Canada and India share a commitment to supporting the most vulnerable communities around the world,” he added.
A release from Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, said the development ministers “focused their discussions on how the G20 can help accelerate progress in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, including through efforts to improve access to financing”.
“In the spirit of India’s G20 presidency, One Earth, One Family, One Future, we must all contribute to addressing the global challenges that affect sustainable development around the world and work as one to meet the UN 2030 Agenda goals. From combating climate change, addressing global food security challenges, promoting gender equality and working to improve access to financing for development, Canada has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating progress across all SDGs,” Sajjan said.
The release noted Canada and India “have deep ties built on shared democratic values and a long-standing friendship” and their “wide-ranging bilateral cooperation between Canada and India spans the fields of science and technology, finance, education and security”.
Sajjan was making his first official visit to India since he became International Development Minister. His previous visits were in April 2017 and in February 2018 when was Minister of National Defence. He was moved from that portfolio after the 2021 elections and replaced with Anita Anand.
The float had appeared at a martyrdom day event on June 4 in Brampton, marking the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, the military action ordered by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 to flush out separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and his supporters from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
It sparked outrage in India. Other tableaux featured Bhindranwale and other major figures in the Khalistan movement. Jaishankar told media in New Delhi on Thursday the float was linked to the bigger issue of the “space that Canada has continuously” provided to Khalistani elements.
Canada’s Minister for International Trade Mary Ng is expected to visit India in August for the G20 Trade Ministers meeting. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to attend the leaders’ summit of the multilateral event in September.
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