Sushma Swaraj  

Ahead of Friday’s India-Canada bilateral summit, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland held a strategic dialogue here on Thursday covering a wide range of bilateral issues.

In a tweet, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that the two leaders “had wide ranging discussions on strengthening relations in trade and investment, security and cyber security, energy, people-to-people contacts and other relevant bilateral and regional issues.”

Ms. Freeland arrived here on Wednesday evening ahead of the bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau.

Thursday’s meeting was held amid wide speculation of Mr. Modi and his government cold-shouldering Mr. Trudeau during his eight-day state visit to India that started on February 17.

Frosty ties

Ties between New Delhi and Ottawa have been frosty in recent times as Canada is being seen as offering a platform to separatists demanding an independent Khalistan.

The visiting dignitary and his family have visited Agra, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Amritsar but Mr. Modi has not yet issued any welcome statement or tweet.