New Delhi: India has resumed e-visa services for all Canadian nationals amid the ongoing diplomatic row between the two countries, it is learnt. This includes visas in the visitors’ category.The move comes ahead of the G-20 virtual meet that India is hosting, which will be attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It also comes weeks after the Indian High Commission in Ottawa announced resumption of visa services with effect from 26 October for four categories — entry, business, medical and conference visas. However, the e-visa was not opened and neither was the category for visitors.
According to former High Commissioner to Canada Ajay Bisaria, the resumption of e-visas is part of a “calibrated normalisation of the visa regime”, especially as the tourism season nears.
He added: “But it remains to be seen if there will be any flexibility on the issue of parity in numbers of diplomats which has troubled the Canadian government more. Clearly, that is still an avenue through which India expresses dissatisfaction over the way anti-India extremism is handled in Canada.”
India and Canada have been locked in a diplomatic row since 18 September, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.
Canada has also withdrawn a number of diplomats from India. This was pursuant to a request from New Delhi to reduce their strength and rank of diplomats for mutual staff “parity”.
In September, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed reports that it had suspended visas to Canadian nationals. At the time, the MEA spokesperson had said this was done owing to the inaction of the Canadian government and the creation of an environment that “disrupts the functioning of our consulates”.
Last month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said he hoped visa services would be resumed very soon, adding that at the time it was not safe for diplomats to issue visas. “If we see progress there, I would very much like to resume the issue of visas. My hope would be that it would be something which should happen very very soon,” he had said, while speaking at the Kautilya Forum in New Delhi.
Also read: Jaishankar raises Canada row in talks with Australia, says Ottawa ‘giving space to extremism’
Trudeau to attend G20 meet
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to attend a virtual G20 meet hosted by India Wednesday, despite the ongoing diplomatic row between the two countries.
An itinerary released by the Canadian Prime Minister’s office for Wednesday stated that Trudeau would be attending the virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit at 5.30 pm IST (7 am EST).
The Virtual Summit of the G20 will see the participation of several world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang (who will attend instead of Chinese President Xi Jinping). US President Joe Biden is yet to confirm his participation.
Earlier in mid-October, Speaker of the Canadian Senate, Raymonde Gagne, had skipped another G20 event hosted by India, known as the Parliament G20 Summit or the ‘P20 Summit’.
As diplomatic tensions between India and Canada continue to rise, New Delhi maintains that the Canadian side is yet to provide evidence to back its claims on the alleged role of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing.
During the recent Indo-US 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi earlier this month, India conveyed to the US its concerns over increasing activities of Sikh extremism in Canada. The US reiterated its call for India to cooperate with Canada on the probe.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: ‘Gang war’ involving Nijjar-style killings spreads in Canada — 3 including child shot dead in a week