Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng postponed a trade mission to India planned for October, an official said Friday, September 15, 2023, reflecting increasingly tense diplomatic relations just days after the Indian prime minister scolded his Canadian counterpart at a meeting G20 summit in New Delhi.
“At this time, we are postponing the trade mission to India,” said Shanti Cosentino, the minister’s spokeswoman, without giving a reason.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who held formal bilateral meetings with many world leaders during the G20 summit, embarrassed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , and only allowed a brief, informal meeting five days ago.
Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab, and the country has been the scene of many protests that have upset India.
“They promoted secession and incited violence against Indian diplomats, vandalized diplomatic venues and threatened Indian communities in Canada and their places of worship,” the Indian government said after the leaders met.
Earlier on Friday, India said it had stopped trade talks with Canada. Canada made a similar announcement earlier this month, saying the pause was necessary to “assess.”
It was only about four months ago that the two countries said they intended to sign a trade agreement early this year.
Source : Tempo.co
