Jaishankar meets Canada’s Anita Anand in Washington as Ottawa looks to deepen India ties

India-Canada ties deepen amid trade realignment

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Washington on Wednesday, as Canada looks to broaden its economic partnerships beyond the United States.

“Great to see FM @AnitaAnandMP of Canada today. Talked about taking our ties forward,” Jaishankar wrote on X. He said he also met Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan alongside Anand earlier in the day, sharing a photograph from the meeting.

Great to see FM @AnitaAnandMP of Canada today. Talked about taking our ties forward. 🇮🇳 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/OBeunFafhl

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 4, 2026

Jaishankar is in the US capital for the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Tuesday, he held extensive discussions with Rubio, during which both sides welcomed the trade deal recently concluded between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The engagement comes ahead of a likely visit to India by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the first week of March. India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, said Carney is expected to travel to New Delhi to sign agreements covering uranium, energy, critical minerals and artificial intelligence.

“I have a feeling in the first week of March is what we are looking at,” Patnaik said in a recent interview, according to Reuters.

Carney has been actively seeking to reduce Canada’s reliance on the US by expanding trade ties elsewhere. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, he urged middle powers such as Canada to forge new coalitions in an increasingly uncertain global environment, with outreach to India forming part of that effort.

Canada’s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson visited India in January for India Energy Week and said the timing of Carney’s trip had yet to be finalised.

“There are plans for the Prime Minister to visit at some point this year. It will depend on the progress we make,” Hodgson said.

Patnaik added that formal negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are expected to begin in March, after India and Canada agreed in November to revive stalled trade talks.

He said Carney is likely to sign a number of smaller agreements with India spanning nuclear energy, oil and gas, environment, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, as well as cooperation in education and culture. A 10-year uranium supply deal worth C$2.8 billion is also expected to feature.

“Both countries are moving with a sense of urgency after two years of stalled talks,” Patnaik said, noting a renewed push to act swiftly as countries affected by US tariffs seek to strengthen alternative partnerships.

US President Donald Trump last month threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canada if it pursued a trade deal with China. Carney responded that Canada would respect its commitments under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and would not enter free trade agreements with non-market economies.