Commenting on the curtailed visa services between India and Canada amid a diplomatic row between the two nations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that if Indian diplomats were provided security in Canada as per the Vienna Convention, he would “very much like to resume the issuance of visas”. Jaishankar said India had stopped issuing visas in Canada a few weeks ago because it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas.
“Because ensuring the safety of diplomats is the most fundamental aspect of the Vienna Convention. And right now that has been challenged in many ways in Canada, that our people are not safe, our diplomats are not safe. So if we see progress there, I would very much like to see the resumption of visa issuance. My hope would be that it would be something that would happen very soon,” he said, as quoted by news agency ANI. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar also said that India-Canada relations were going through a “difficult phase”.
