Canada Trade Minister Mary Ng said that trade talks with India will remain on hold due to the investigation pending into the Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case, Bloomberg reported.
“You’ve heard me and the government talk about how important it is that that investigation happens, given that we had a Canadian killed on Canadian soil,” Ng told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, Bloomberg reported. “So we’ll let that happen.”
“My job as the trade minister is to make sure that that the supports and the tools that are there to support Canadian businesses and investors in India continue to be available to them,” she said at the briefing late Wednesday. “So that’s what we’re doing for now.”
A diplomatic row erupted between India and Canada earlier in September following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in British Columbia on June 18.
India has rejected the allegations as "absurd" and “motivated”.
The India-Canada ties have been reeling under some strain for the last few months given increasing activities of the pro-Khalistani elements in the North American country. India believes the Trudeau government is not addressing its genuine concerns.
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS), minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that Free trade agreement (FTA) discussions between India and Canada were halted due to baseless misconceptions, a move that will hurt Canada more than India.
"They stopped the talks with us. There are some misconceptions among some Canadian politicians, which are baseless," Goyal said. “They will lose out (from halting the talks), India will not lose out. The Indian market is bigger, and our country offers (more) opportunities."
The cessation of the India-Canada FTA discussions, which had only recently restarted after ten years.
-With agency inputs
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