India Appoints Dinesh Patnaik As Next High Commissioner To Canada

India and Canada on Thursday appointed envoys to each other's capitals, signalling their efforts to repair ties that came under severe strain following the killing of a Sikh separatist in 2023.

While India named seasoned diplomat Dinesh K Patnaik as the next high commissioner to Ottawa, Canada appointed Christopher Cooter as its new envoy to New Delhi.

The development came over two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the margins of the G7 summit at Kananaskis in Canada.

Patnaik, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as India's ambassador to Spain.

"He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a brief statement.

In Ottawa, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand announced that Cooter will become the next high commissioner to India, a position previously held by Cameron MacKay.

"The appointment of a new high commissioner reflects Canada's step-by-step approach to deepening diplomatic engagement and advancing bilateral cooperation with India," Anand said.

"This appointment is an important development toward restoring services for Canadians while strengthening the bilateral relationship to support Canada's economy," she said.

A Canadian readout said the appointments are an important step towards restoring necessary diplomatic services to citizens and businesses in both countries.

Cooter has 35 years of diplomatic experience, having served most recently as Canada's charge d'affaires to Israel and as Canada's high commissioner to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Mauritius and Madagascar.

He also served as first secretary at Canadian High Commission in New Delhi from 1998 to 2000.

In June, Prime Minister Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney agreed to pursue "constructive" steps to restore stability in India-Canada ties including the early return of envoys to each other's capitals.

Ties between India and Canada plummeted to an all-time low following a diplomatic spat over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The India-Canada relations hit rock bottom following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Nijjar.

In October last year, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case.

India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.

However, Liberal Party leader Carney's victory in the parliamentary election in April helped in beginning the process to reset relations.

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