G20 agri ministers meet: India-Canada hold talks, discuss bilateral relations

Canada’s minister of agriculture and agri-food Marie-Claude Bibeau took part in the G20 agriculture ministers meeting in Hyderabad last week where she also held a bilateral meeting with minister of agriculture and farmers welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on the sidelines of the multilateral event.

“Agricultural clean technologies, sustainable development and India’s potential as a driver of global food security through its agricultural sector and millet production”, Bibeau wrote on her official Twitter account after her meeting with Tomar.

She later added that they discussed agricultural clean technologies, sustainable development and India’s potential as a driver of global food security through its agricultural sector and millet production.

Also Read: Goyal, Ng co-chair 6th Canada-India dialogue on trade, investment

After his meeting with Bibeau, Tomar said, “Canada has a huge agricultural production and agro-technological advancements, which offer potential for cooperation with India”.

He added that their discussions focused on reforms in agricultural relations between the two countries.

This is the second visit by a Canadian cabinet minister to India for G20 events after the relationship took a hit due to the appearance of a parade float featuring the assassination of late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, during an event on June 4 in Brampton on the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, the military action ordered by the late PM in 1984 to flush out separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and his supporters from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The incident had sparked a huge outrage in India.

Reacting to the developments, minister of external affairs S Jaishankar expressed his disappointment.

“Frankly, we are at a loss to understand other than the requirements of vote bank politics why anybody would do this... I think there is a larger underlying issue about the space, which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence,” Jaishankar said while addressing the media.

Recently, India has sent a note verbale, an official diplomatic communication, to Global Affairs Canada (GAC), over pro-Khalistan groups planning a car rally to a memorial in Toronto established in memory of the 331 victims of the bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka, on June 23, 1985.

The rally, which is scheduled for June 25 has, riled India over the fact that it honours Talwinder Singh Parmar, the Babbar Khalsa International leader, considered the mastermind of the terror attack.

Canada’s minister of international development Harjit Sajjan participated in the three-day G20 development Ministers meeting in Varanasi after the rally’s report surfaced.

Canada’s minister of international trade, export, small business and economic development, Mary Ng’s department has issued an invitation to Canadian companies interested in exploring new business opportunities in India, while announcing the dates for the trade mission from October 9 to 13.

Ng is also expected to visit India in August for the G20 trade ministers meeting where she is expected to meet commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and carry forward their discussions towards putting together the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) between the two countries.

Goyal visited Ottawa in May and held bilateral talks with Ng providing momentum to the negotiations.

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