Ottawa– In a step aimed at repairing strained ties, Canada has appointed veteran diplomat Christopher Cooter as its new High Commissioner to India, while New Delhi announced senior diplomat Dinesh K. Patnaik as India’s next High Commissioner to Canada.
The simultaneous announcements came ten months after both nations expelled each other’s top diplomats during a major diplomatic standoff.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed Cooter’s appointment, while the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi announced Patnaik’s posting.
Cooter, who joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1990, has held a range of overseas assignments, including in Kenya and India as a political officer, as charge d’affaires in Cambodia, as deputy permanent representative to NATO, and as ambassador or high commissioner in Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Georgia, and Madagascar.
Patnaik, currently India’s Ambassador to Spain, will move to Ottawa to take charge as High Commissioner.
Bilateral ties deteriorated sharply last October when then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that there were “credible allegations” of India’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The row escalated when Canada declared India’s High Commissioner and other diplomats “persons of interest” in its investigation.
India dismissed the claims as “absurd” and “motivated,” accusing Ottawa of providing space for extremist and anti-India groups. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also criticized Trudeau’s government for emboldening such factions, particularly after Khalistani activists in Canada targeted Hindus and their places of worship.
With Mark Carney now serving as Canadian Prime Minister, both governments have signaled a shift toward reconciliation. In June, Carney invited Modi to the G7 Outreach Summit in Kananaskis, where the two leaders held a bilateral meeting described as “very positive and constructive” by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. Both agreed to restore High Commissioners as an early confidence-building measure. (Source: IANS)
