New Delhi: India along with Canada and Australia Saturday announced a “new trilateral technology and innovation partnership” on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit being held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“Had an excellent meeting with Mr. Anthony Albanese, PM of Australia and Mr. Mark Carney, PM of Canada on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. We are delighted to announce an Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership today,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement on the social media platform X.
“The initiative will deepen collaboration between democratic partners across three continents and three oceans in emerging technologies, support diversification of supply chains, clean energy and mass adoption of AI.”
It is pertinent to note that India and Canada are still working on stabilising ties in particular since Mark Carney became the leader of the North American nation in March. The bilateral ties during the tenure of Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau had soured with India withdrawing six of its diplomats from Canada and expelling six Canadian diplomats from the missions.
Ties were hit after Trudeau accused Indian officials of being linked to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar—an Indian designated terrorist—on Canadian soil in September 2023. Nijjar was killed in June that year.
New Delhi rejected the allegations as ‘absurd and motivated’. However, the damage was done. Ottawa had suspended trade negotiations with New Delhi for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). India urged the removal of 41 Canadian diplomats and their dependents from its missions in India to ensure ‘parity’ in representation.
However, with Carney taking over from Trudeau, ties have moved forward with a positive momentum. Modi travelled to Canada in June to attend the G7 Leaders’ Summit, where he held a bilateral meeting with Carney. Both sides appointed new High Commissioners in August, while both Foreign Ministers S. Jaishankar and Anita Anand have travelled to each other’s countries respectively.
Earlier Friday, Modi met with Albanese in a bilateral meeting in Johannesburg. The two leaders “renewed their commitment to” take forward the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership “to even greater heights.”
“Both leaders expressed satisfaction at the deepening and diversification of cooperation between India and Australia in the last five years following elevation of the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020. Prime Minister Albanese offered his solidarity on the recent terror attack in India. The leaders committed to strengthen the global fight against terrorism,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a readout of the meeting between the two leaders.
“The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation across a wide range of areas including political and strategic, defence and security, energy, trade and investment, critical minerals, technology, mobility, education and people-to-people linkages. The Prime Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Earlier in the week, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong was in New Delhi to hold meetings with Jaishankar, as ties between the two countries have continued to deepen in the last few years.
Modi is in South Africa for a three-day visit beginning 21 November. On Saturday, he spoke at the first session of the summit where he proposed a number of initiatives in areas such as healthcare, combatting drug trafficking, supporting African development and knowledge systems.
The summit is notable for being the first G20 summit to be held in the African continent. However, US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have all given the summit a miss.
Apart from meetings with Albanese and Carney, Modi also held discussions with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, South Korea President Lee Jae Myung, President Lula of Brazil and Prime Minister Keir Starmer from the United Kingdom.
Modi is set to attend the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) leaders’ dialogue Sunday, before attending the final session of the G20 summit. He is set to depart Sunday evening from Johannesburg and return to India Monday.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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