OTTAWA, Apr 3: Senior diplomat Mahaveer Singhvi has assumed charge as India’s new consul general in Toronto amid efforts by New Delhi and Ottawa to further expand the bilateral ties in a range of areas, including trade, investment and energy.
Singhvi, a 1999 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, was serving as an additional secretary in the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi before taking up the new responsibility.
“His appointment comes at an important moment to further strengthen and elevate the India-Canada relationship, with a focus on deepening cooperation across trade, technology, education and innovation,” the Indian mission in Toronto said on social media.
Singhvi looks forward to working closely with Canadian stakeholders and the vibrant Indian diaspora to strengthen mutual trust, expand partnerships, and build a forward-looking partnership rooted in shared values and opportunities, it added.
In his nearly 25-year stint as a diplomat, Singhvi held many key positions, including helming the New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies as well as the Counter Terrorism divisions.
The senior diplomat has assumed charge a month after India and Canada finalised a new framework to shore up the overall trajectory of ties, including taking bilateral annual trade to USD 50 billion by 2030.
The framework was finalised during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India.
In the last few months, India and Canada have taken several steps to normalise their relations.
The ties had hit rock bottom following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India had dismissed Trudeau’s accusation as “absurd”.
In October 2024, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case.
India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.
However, Liberal Party leader Carney’s victory in the parliamentary election in April last year helped in beginning the process to reset relations.
Subsequently, both sides have already posted their high commissioners in each other’s capitals.
In June last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Canada’s Kananaskis to attend the G7 summit.
“After joining as the Consul General of India in Toronto, I visited the Jain Society of Toronto and offered prayers at the temple, reflecting on the timeless values of Ahimsa (non-violence), peace, unity and harmony,” Singhvi said in a social media post. (PTI)
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