Author Description

Canada and India are in many ways natural partners-two middle powers sharing a common political and legal tradition derived from the British Commonwelath, as well as a commitment to multiculturalism, democracy adn international institutions. India's founding Prime Minsiter Jawaharlal nehry had a personal friendship with Canadian Prime Ministers Trudeau and Pearson. Despite this promising start, bilateral relations never took flight-a functiona of Cold War politics, India's relative isolation through much of the post-indepenendence period, the enormous distance between the two countries, and, deep disagreements over India's testing of nuclear weapons in 1974 and 1998. By the start of the new millennium, India and Canada were ready to embark on a new phase in bilateral relations-one defined not only by trade and investment interests, but also by a contemporary understanding of their standing in the world, and the potential contribution that both countries can make to issues of regional and global significance.