Jaishankar and Joly Meet at Munich Security Conference

According to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, he spoke with his Canadian colleague Melanie Joly on the "present state" of bilateral ties and current global challenges. This comes amid a diplomatic spat between the two nations over the death of a Sikh separatist in Canada.

Here in Germany, on the fringes of the esteemed Munich Security Conference, the two leaders convened on Friday.

Met my Canadian counterpart FM @melaniejoly on sidelines of #MSC2024.

Our conversation understandably focused on the present state of our bilateral ties. Was also useful to exchange views on the global situation. pic.twitter.com/g1G1VhS3vn — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 16, 2024

The conference takes place amidst acrimony in bilateral relations due to the death of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian territory in the previous year.

"I met FM @melaniejoly, my Canadian counterpart, during #MSC2024. Naturally, the topic of our chat was on how our bilateral relations are now doing. Was helpful to share opinions on the state of the world as well," Jaishankar wrote on X.


Joly also wrote on X about her encounter with Jaishankar.

"At #MSC2024, @DrSJaishankar and I had a frank discussion on Canada-India relations and the current global issues, including Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine," she posted on Twitter.

Lors du #MSC2024, le @DrSJaishankar et moi-même avons eu une discussion bien ouverte sur les relations entre le Canada et l'Inde et sur les problèmes mondiaux actuels, notamment l'invasion illégale de l'Ukraine par la Russie. pic.twitter.com/kxK9KpjBjn — Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) February 17, 2024

Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claims on September 18 about the "potential" participation of Indian operatives in Nijjar's June 18 murder in British Columbia province, relations between India and Canada deteriorated. In 2020, India classified Nijjar as a terrorist.

The Canadian government's accusations have been dismissed by India as "absurd and motivated."

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.