00:00 Amid diplomatic tensions with India and Canada, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair asserted
00:05 that his country's relationship with India is important.
00:08 He said that Ottawa will continue to pursue partnerships like the Indo-Pacific Initiative.
00:14 Before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations last week, Ottawa had been seeking
00:19 deeper relations with India in the fields of trade, defence and immigration.
00:24 In an interview on Sunday, Blair said that Canada will continue to pursue those partnerships
00:29 while investigating the allegations raised by Trudeau.
00:33 The minister noted that the Indo-Pacific strategy was critical for Canada as it has led to its
00:38 increased military presence in the region and commitments to further patrol capabilities.
00:44 Blair said, "We understand that this can be and has proven to be a challenging issue with
00:48 respect to our relationship with India.
00:51 But at the same time, we have a responsibility to defend the law, defend our citizens and
00:56 at the same time make sure we conduct a thorough investigation and get to the truth."
01:03 The Defence Minister further said that if the allegations are proven true, there is
01:07 a very significant concern that Canada will have in relation to the violation of Canada's
01:11 sovereignty in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.
01:16 As per reports, Canada's military commitments in the Indo-Pacific region will cost around
01:21 $492.9 million over five years out of a total of nearly $2.3 billion in the same time period.
01:29 India-Canada relations nosedived to the lowest point after Trudeau's allegations in Canadian
01:34 Parliament of potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar, who was gunned
01:39 down in British Columbia's Surrey on June 18.
01:43 India rejected the Canadian PM's allegations as absurd and motivated.
01:47 New Delhi even expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to a similar
01:52 move by Ottawa.
01:54 India also temporarily suspended visa services for Canadian nationals in view of what India
01:59 called security threats and called for a reduction of Canadian diplomats in New Delhi.
02:05 The diplomatic standoff between both countries has laid uncertainties over trade relations
02:10 as India and Canada recorded a growing bilateral trade for the past few years.
02:15 Canada and India are essential trading partners for each other.
02:19 Bilateral trade between both the countries has risen to around $8.6 billion in 2022.
02:26 Trudeau himself acknowledged on the sidelines of the G20 summit that India is an important
02:30 economy.
02:31 The political acrimony has raised concerns of impacting a robust India-Canada trade.
02:36 Moreover, Canada houses a large Indian diaspora, raising concerns among Indian students there
02:42 after Trudeau's allegations and the suspension of visa services for Canadian nationals.
03:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments