New Delhi: The national security advisor, Ajit Doval met David Morrison, senior diplomatic and international affairs advisor to Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, on Tuesday, with the two sides reviewing progress in bilateral security and law-enforcement cooperation. They also agreed to identify additional areas for practical engagement as part of the regular bilateral security dialogue at the NSA level.
The meeting marks a continuation of institutional security contacts between New Delhi and Ottawa after a period of strained bilateral ties. The latest readout did not identify specific new areas of cooperation or suggest that outstanding differences between the two countries had been resolved.
Security engagement builds on February workplan
Doval travelled to Canada in February for talks with then Canadian national security and intelligence adviser, Nathalie Drouin and public safety minister, Gary Anandasangaree. The two sides agreed on a shared workplan for national security and law-enforcement cooperation and to establish liaison officers to improve communication between their agencies.
The February framework covered cooperation against illegal drug flows and transnational organized crime, along with cybersecurity, fraud and immigration enforcement. Those areas formed part of the earlier workplan and have not been publicly identified as the agenda of Tuesday’s Doval-Morrison meeting.
The latest interaction also follows the September 2 India-Canada Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi, where officials reviewed progress across institutional mechanisms including security and defence cooperation, energy, critical minerals, science and technology, education and consular matters. Both sides welcomed stronger government-to-government engagement.
Morrison became senior diplomatic and international affairs advisor to the Canadian prime minister in March after serving as deputy minister of foreign affairs. He also serves as Carney’s personal representative for the G7 and G20 summits.
The Doval-Morrison meeting therefore extends an existing security mechanism, with both sides now looking to identify further practical areas for cooperation rather than signalling a completed diplomatic reset.