India and Canada have appointed new envoys, nine months after the two countries’ ties went sour, aiming to better the relationship under new Canadian leadership. India appointed seasoned diplomat Dinesh K Patnaik as India’s new high commissioner to Canada, while the latter appointed Christopher Cooter as ambassador to India.

The decision comes months after PM Narendra Modi met the new PM of Canada, Mark Carney and the two decided to work on the relationship between the two countries. 

Who is Dinesh K Patnaik?

The government has appointed Dinesh K Patnaik as India’s envoy to Canada, with an outlook of rebuilding ties with Ottawa. He is a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer (IFS), and is presently serving as India’s ambassador to Spain.

“He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a brief statement.

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Nijjar killing and India-Canada ties

India and Canada went through a rough patch after Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed by some unidentified people in Canada. Justin Trudeau, the then-Canadian PM, levelled serious allegations against India saying that New Delhi was involved in the murder of Nijjar. 

This led to a strong reaction from India, which recalled its envoy. Canada did the same and both sides also cut down the number of envoys. In October last year, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case.

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Trudeau later tried to cover his statement but New Delhi was not ready to negotiate. 

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney agreed to pursue “constructive” steps to restore stability in India-Canada ties. This included early return of envoys to each other’s capitals. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada on June 17.