‘Genuine Advocate Of India-Canada Ties’: EAM Jaishankar Meets Canadian MP Chandra Arya

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Canadian Member of Parliament Chandrakanth Arya on Monday.

“Delighted to meet Canadian MP Chandrakanth Arya. As a genuine advocate of India – Canada friendship, appreciate his views and value his insights,” Jaishankar said in a social media post after meeting with the MP from Canada’s Nepean region.

Arya in a separate social media post said that India and Canada’s should take their relationship to the next level as Canada requires skilled Indian professionals and also hosts a large number of Indian students.

“Canada India relationship is very important for both countries. Economic relations, specifically Canadian investments in India are going strong. Skilled professionals from India are meeting our human talent needs. We have a huge number of international students from India. We must do everything possible not only to maintain this but to take it to the next level,” he said.

The Canadian lawmaker has been a staunch backer of close ties between India and Canada as relations go through a rough phase as Canada accuses India of hatching a murder-for-hire plot in the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India has dismissed the allegations and called them ‘baseless’.

Arya was also threatened by another Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun who in a video demanded him and members of the Hindu-Canadian community to return to India.

“We Hindus have come to our wonderful country, Canada, from all parts of the world and Canada is our land. With our long history of Hindu culture and heritage, we have enriched the multicultural fabric of Canada. Our land is being polluted by Khalistani extremists abusing our freedoms guaranteed by our Canadian Charter of Rights,” the Canadian MP had said.