India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval recently sat down with Canada’s Nathalie G. Drouin in New Delhi to push forward stronger ties on key security issues. The two met on September 18 as part of their regular bilateral security talks, focusing on counterterrorism, fighting transnational organized crime, and sharing intelligence.
The Ministry of External Affairs shared that this meeting built on earlier chats between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Those discussions happened on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, earlier this year. Both sides highlighted the growing momentum to rebuild trust and expand cooperation at the top levels.
“We had productive talks on advancing our bilateral relationship,” the MEA noted. Doval and Drouin agreed to team up closely for a fresh start in India-Canada relations. They committed to bolstering security cooperation, reinforcing ongoing channels, and swapping views on regional and global hotspots. Priority areas for future work stood out in their agenda.
This comes amid ongoing efforts to mend strained India-Canada diplomatic ties. The relationship hit rough patches after former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised “credible allegations” in parliament linking India to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canada even named India’s High Commissioner and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in the probe, sparking a major row.
India rejected the claims as “absurd” and “motivated,” pointing fingers at Canada for sheltering extremists and anti-India groups. The Modi-Carney meeting marked a positive shift, with both leaders calling it “very positive and constructive.” They pledged to restore High Commissioners to each other’s capitals soon and restart senior-level talks on trade, people-to-people links, and connectivity to inject new energy into the partnership.
On Friday, the MEA fired back at reports of rising Khalistani threats against Indian diplomatic missions in Canada, including the consulate in Vancouver. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stressed during a briefing that securing these sites is Canada’s duty as the host nation.
“It’s the Canadian government’s responsibility to protect our diplomatic premises,” Jaiswal said. “We raise concerns directly with them to ensure adequate security.” He added that the NSA talks were a routine step in ongoing India-Canada security consultations, tying back to the G7 discussions.
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