By Maria Cheng
OTTAWA, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives in Mumbai on Friday on his first official visit to India, hoping to reset the sometimes fractious relationship with the world’s most populous country as he seeks new global alliances.
Carney will meet business leaders in Mumbai and start talks on a comprehensive trade agreement, which is expected to be completed by November, his foreign minister told Reuters. He is scheduled to travel on to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Carney has sought closer ties with China and Middle Eastern countries as well as India, as he tries to reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States and forge a new global trading order led by what he calls middle-power countries.
Relations between Canada and India soured several years ago after explosive allegations by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the Indian government was linked to the assassination of a Canadian citizen who was also a prominent Sikh separatist. India has repeatedly denied any such links.
Unlike several previous Canadian leaders, including Trudeau, Carney will not make a stop in India’s Punjab region, a major origin of Indian migration to Canada. Sikh separatists have pushed for an independent state in the Punjab and a visit there risks irking Carney’s Indian hosts.
Analysts say the move signals a more pragmatic foreign policy that aims to wean Canada away from the United States, spurred by President Donald Trump’s tariff war and annexation threats.
“The Prime Minister has a laser-beam focus on attracting capital to Canada, not playing to the Indian diaspora back home,” said Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada.
“This is a business trip aimed at growing the economy to give Canadians more economic sovereignty,” he said, calling the approach a significant shift from the Trudeau era.
Last month, the European Union and India reached a landmark trade deal to cut tariffs on most goods, raising expectations that India might soon sign a similar deal with Canada. India’s high commissioner to Canada told Reuters in January that Carney will likely sign a 10-year, C$2.8 billion ($2.05 billion) uranium supply deal and smaller agreements on oil and gas, the environment, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, education and culture.
NO BHANGRA DANCING
Trudeau was mocked for wearing overly elaborate Indian outfits during a 2018 visit and was publicly criticized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing “anti-India activities,” a reference to vocal Sikh separatists living in Canada.
“Carney has a sense of gravitas and is very strategic,” said Partha Mohanram, a management professor at the University of Toronto. “He’s not going to do a bhangra dance over there.”
But Carney’s approach to India has drawn criticism from some Sikh groups in Canada.
“The Carney government has failed to hold India accountable or to create any meaningful safeguards to ensure that Sikh Canadians are protected from foreign interference and transnational repression,” the World Sikh Organization of Canada said in a statement on Wednesday.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told Reuters there have been conversations between Canada and India at the highest levels regarding concerns about criminal activity with possible links to India. Anand said there were new measures to track criminal money, digital threats and surveillance of diaspora communities.
Anand said Carney’s foreign policy was driven by the reordering of global trading relationships and that “no country will ever have a pass in terms of the domestic safety and security of this country.”
FENDING OFF AMERICAN HEGEMONY
After India, Carney will visit Australia, where he will address parliament and discuss military, trade and defense links. En route back to Ottawa, Carney will meet Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and talk about boosting trade in autos, energy and critical minerals.
Jonathan Kalles, a former adviser to ex-Prime Minister Trudeau, said Carney’s agenda was defined by the new geopolitical order he outlined in his Davos speech, where he called for middle powers to adopt a “principled and pragmatic” path to fend off American hegemony.
“When the world is nice and calm, you can try to change the world and talk about virtues,” he said. “But when you’re living in uncertain times, the Prime Minister’s job is to advance the country’s interests and Mark Carney knows very well his job is to diversify our trade and strengthen the economy.”
($1 = 1.3684 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Maria Cheng; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Edmund Klamann)
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