New Delhi: As India and Toronto issued their joint statements after Prime Ministers of both countries met for over two hours, there was much talk around how they both spoke about two important, but very different aspects of bilateral relations-one focusing on terrorism and the other on jobs, trade.
The two different notes of conversation, however, should not be a cause of worry, said former High Commissioner of India to Canada Vishnu Prakash who added that in fact, the statement was indeed one that hit all the right notes.
“There are hardly times when two nations have spoken on just one thing and often it happens that they do end up talking about different things. But the larger picture must be on their shared focus on both things combined,” Prakash said.
He added that the leaders had underlined the importance they attached to this relationship and that they had assured each other of the same.
While PM Narendra Modi laid emphasis on putting up a united front against terrorism and spoke about zero tolerance policy against those who wanted to divide the country and create disruptions, his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau focused on greater trade relations and creating jobs.
“I’d like to call it the three Es-Economy, Energy and Education. That was the joint focus of both leaders and that is commendable,” he said.
The statement, he said, was not only built on convergence but was also to address divergence. The two sides agreed on a ‘Framework for Cooperation on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism’ and issued a joint statement after the bilateral talks at the Hyderabad House on Friday afternoon.
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