Current status of bilateral ties with Canada warrant parity in diplomatic presence, no violation of int'l norms: India

New Delhi, Oct 20

Amid reports that Canada has recalled a significant number of its diplomats from India, the external affairs ministry on Friday said that considering the current status of bilateral relations between the two nations and Ottawa's continued interference in New Delhi's affairs as well as the extremely high number of Canadian diplomats, warranted a parity in mutual diplomatic presence.

It also dismissed allegations that attempts to maintain parity are in violation of international norms.

"We have seen the Statement by the Government of Canada on October 19 regarding Canadian diplomatic presence in India. The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa."

The MEA statement further said, "We have been engaged with the Canadian side on this over the last month in order to work out the details and modalities of its implementation. Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."

According to Article 11.1, "In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission.”

"We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms," the statement said further.

#