In another move toward normalizing bilateral relations following a protracted dispute over the murder of a Khalistani insurgent, India on Thursday appointed senior diplomat Dinesh K. Patnaik as the next high commissioner to Canada, a post that had been unfilled for the previous ten months.
According to a statement from the external affairs ministry, Patnaik, an Indian Foreign Service officer from the 1990 batch, is anticipated to begin the duty in Ottawa soon. At the moment, he serves as India’s ambassador to Spain. According to persons acquainted with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Canadian side is anticipated to appoint Christopher Cooter, who most recently held the position of chargé d’affaires in Israel, as the new high commissioner to India.
Although it is believed that the procedure was expedited in the Patnaik case, the Canadian side has a standard of completing the agrément, or the legal arrangement whereby a state receives a foreign country’s envoy, in 120 days. After former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed in September 2023 that Indian government agents were responsible for the assassination of Khalistani rebel Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the town of Surrey that year, relations between India and Canada fell apart.
Both parties halted trade pact negotiations, downgraded diplomatic ties, and expelled scores of each other’s diplomats after India rejected the accusation as “absurd.” He also held positions in the foreign affairs ministry’s divisions that dealt with Africa, Europe (West), the UN, and external publicity, as well as India’s missions in Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing, and Vienna. at the 1990s, Cooter worked as a political officer at the Canadian mission in New Delhi and as the country’s high commissioner to South Africa.
A little over a month after India and Canada conducted their first discussions in New Delhi to further the process of repairing ties and putting policies in place to satisfy both sides’ concerns, Patnaik’s nomination was made public. He also held positions in the foreign affairs ministry’s divisions that dealt with Africa, Europe (West), the UN, and external publicity, as well as India’s missions in Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing, and Vienna at the 1990s, Cooter worked as a political officer at the Canadian mission in New Delhi and as the country’s high commissioner to South Africa.
A little over a month after India and Canada conducted their first discussions in New Delhi to further the process of repairing ties and putting policies in place to satisfy both sides’ concerns, Patnaik’s nomination was made public. As a follow-up to the June G7 Summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian colleague Mark Carney, Canada’s assistant deputy minister (Indo-Pacific), Weldon Epp, traveled to New Delhi to hold discussions with high-ranking Indian officials. Following the protracted dispute over Nijjar’s murder, the two prime ministers of the time agreed on a number of measures to mend the bilateral relationship, including the appointment of high commissioners.
According to the individuals mentioned above, the Indian side is still worried about Khalistani elements headquartered in Canada and their involvement in various illegal activities. According to them, the Canadian side is worried about the actions of Indian criminal gangs and is eager to see more Canadian ambassadors in India, as there were notably fewer during the dispute.