Canada-China Relations committee  As a result of the removal of two-thirds of the diplomats in our missions across India, that processing cannot happen in Chandigarh. We will await a re-establishment of those personnel being able to do their jobs in our consulates and in Delhi to complete this part of the strategy.

Canada-China Relations committee  It is my understand that there is no processing going on in—

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is my understanding that the processing is not happening in Chandigarh at this moment.

Canada-China Relations committee  Our diplomats in Chandigarh have, in fact, been removed from India, so there is no capacity to process them there.

Canada-China Relations committee  The objective of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada office in the region was to put a physical presence for Canada to promote, facilitate and expand our trade in the same time zone as our client countries in the region. In terms of the operational issues and the budgetary issues, I would have to defer to Mr.

Canada-China Relations committee  With recent developments, the discussions toward a free trade agreement with India have been put on hold, in essence. They have been paused to allow for the process to unfold that will get us through this particular difficult situation with India. Free trade agreements are extraordinarily complicated, complex, all-encompassing endeavours, and I think it would be important for those who are negotiating on both sides of the deal to be able to do so free of fairly significant and major distractions.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hello everyone. I first want to thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee today. I am pleased to be able to tell you about Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy and contribute to your study. Canada has important issues at stake in the future of the Indo-Pacific region, which is the epicentre of a generational global change.