INDIA invoked the provision of parity in Canada’s diplomatic presence in the country in view of concerns over interference in New Delhi’s affairs by Canadian personnel, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while addressing the Kautilya Economic Conclave closing plenary session. The External Affairs Minister also said that India is likely to resume issuance of visas to Canadians if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada. “If we see progress in safety of our diplomats in Canada, we would like to resume issuance of visas there,” Jaishankar said at an event while replying to a question on India-Canada ties. On downsizing Canada’s diplomatic presence in India, he said diplomatic parity is very much provided for in the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. “Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel,” Jaishankar said. Canada has already withdrawn 41 of its diplomats from India. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, announcing the return of the diplomats from India, on Thursday described New Delhi’s action “contrary to international law,” and in violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. India has already rejected the charge. Jaishankar said the relationship between India and Canada right now is going through a difficult phase, adding that India has problems with certain segment of Canadian politics.

 

Any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained in their impact is no longer tenable, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday. In an address at an event, Jaishankar, delving into geopolitical upheavals witnessing the world, said the ripple impact of what is taking place right now in the Middle East is still not entirely clear. No danger is too distant anymore, the External Affairs Minister noted. Jaishankar said, “The unipolar world is distant history. The bipolar world was even more distant in the bipolarity of the US-Soviet Union. And I don’t think US, China will really end up bipolar. I think there are too many next-run powers with sufficient clout and autonomous activity and regions of their own dominance and privacy for that to happen”. “To my mind, a lot of our analysis has to overcome the burden of past constructs...the reality is yes at one level, we are far more globalised,” he added. The EAM further stated that today’s situation has changed and the dominance of regional players won’t allow any external, or global players to enter.

 

The External Affairs Minister said the consequences of various conflicts in a globalised world spread far beyond immediate geographies while citing the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. “In different regions, there are smaller happenings whose impact is not inconsequential,” he said. Talking about the challenge of dealing with various forms of violence, Jaishankar said, “There is also the less formal version that is very pervasive. I am speaking about terrorism which has long been honed and practised as a tool of statecraft.” “The basic takeaway for all of us is that given the seamlessness of our existence, any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained in their impact is no longer tenable,” Jaishankar said. “A big part of this is clearly economic, but do not underestimate the danger of metastasis when it comes to radicalism and extremism,” he added.