India and Canada on Thursday designated senior envoys Dinesh K Patnaik and Christopher Cooter as their respective high commissioners in each other's capitals, filling vacancies that had been open for more than ten months, marking another step towards normalizing bilateral relations after an extended row over the assassination of Khalistani separatist Nijjar.
Patnaik, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer and one of India's most seasoned diplomats, is set to take up his posting in Ottawa shortly, the external affairs ministry announced in a release. He is at present serving as India's ambassador to Spain.
Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand attested that Cooter would assume the position of high commissioner to India. The Canadian foreign ministry stated that this action is an "important step towards restoring necessary diplomatic services to citizens and businesses in both countries."
India-Canada relations were severely strained following a September 2023 claim by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Indian government agents were implicated in the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey that year. India dismissed the allegation as "absurd," resulting in suspending trade talks, a downgrade of diplomatic relations, and mutual expulsions of diplomats.
In October 2023, New Delhi recalled its envoy in Ottawa, Sanjay Verma, and five other officials after Canadian officials tried questioning them over the murder of Nijjar. India retaliated by expelling six Canadian diplomats, including acting high commissioner Stewart Wheeler. Canada had been without a high commissioner in New Delhi since last summer when Cameron MacKay left the position.
Normally, Canada completes the agrément, or official approval of a foreign envoy, within 120 days, although there are reports that the exercise was hurried in Patnaik's case. HT initially reported in March that Patnaik and Cooter were top contenders for the respective ambassador jobs.
Patnaik brings over three decades of diplomatic experience, including serving as India’s deputy high commissioner to the UK from 2016 to 2018—a role that involved handling the Khalistan issue within the Indian diaspora, similar to the situation in Canada. He has also served in India’s missions in Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing, and Vienna, and in the external affairs ministry’s divisions focusing on Africa, Europe (West), the UN, and external publicity.
Cooter, a career diplomat of 35 years' experience, was most recently Canada's chargé d'affaires in Israel and high commissioner to South Africa. He had earlier served as first secretary at the Canadian mission in New Delhi from 1998 to 2000.
Patnaik's appointment was made soon after India and Canada held their first talks in New Delhi on normalizing relations and sharing mutual concerns. Canada's assistant deputy minister (Indo-Pacific), Weldon Epp, had a meeting with top Indian authorities as a sequel to talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June.
The two leaders, at those meetings, also agreed on a number of steps to restore bilateral relations after the Nijjar row, including the posting of high commissioners.
Even though India is still apprehensive about Khalistani elements based in Canada and their nefarious activities, Canada has also complained about Indian criminal gangs and is eager to increase its diplomatic footprint in India, which decreased drastically during the diplomatic split, officials added.
“The appointment of a new high commissioner reflects Canada’s step-by-step approach to deepening diplomatic engagement and advancing bilateral cooperation with India. This appointment is an important development toward restoring services for Canadians while strengthening the bilateral relationship to support Canada’s economy,” Anand said.
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