India, Canada discuss boosting maritime cooperation, defence ties

Ottawa, July 28 (AHN) India and Canada have agreed to enhance defence cooperation, with discussions focusing on maritime collaboration, defence capacity-building and training during a meeting between India's High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh K. Patnaik, and Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty, the Indian High Commission said on Tuesday.

Discussions focused on strengthening maritime cooperation, advancing defence capacity-building and training, and deepening India-Canada defence ties.

The two sides also reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting peace, stability and stronger bilateral engagement, according to the Indian High Commission in Canada.

The meeting follows External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's recent engagement with his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, in Manila last week.

Stressing that the cooperation between India and Canada has been growing, EAM Jaishankar said that his talks with Anita Anand focused on achieving the goals for the relationship set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian PM Mark Carney.

"Appreciate the discussion with Canada FM Anita Anand this afternoon. India-Canada cooperation has been steadily growing. Our conversation focused on achieving the goals for the relationship set by our Prime Ministers," EAM Jaishankar posted on X.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, reviewed the full range of relations between India and Canada during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing G7 Summit in Evian, France.

"It was a delight to meet Prime Minister Carney on the sidelines of the Evian G7 Summit. In less than a year, it is our fourth meeting, indicating our commitment to strong India-Canada ties. We reviewed the full range of relations between our nations, notably the ground covered since we last met," PM Modi wrote on X.

"We discussed extensive cooperation in the following pillars: Trade and economy. Energy. Technology. People-to-people ties," he added.

Ties between India and Canada are underlined by shared democratic values, a steadfast commitment to the rule of law, and vibrant people-to-people ties. The two nations have official-level dialogue mechanisms such as ministerial-level Strategic, Trade and Energy dialogues; Foreign Office Consultations; Joint Committee Meeting on Environment and other sector-specific joint working groups (JWGs).