Anita Anand Sworn in as Canada’s Foreign Minister with Bhagavad Gita in Hand, Watch Video

Ottawa (The Uttam Hindu): Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Anita Anand as the new Foreign Minister. Anand's primary responsibility will be to improve and strengthen relations with India. She was sworn in as Canada's new Foreign Minister on Tuesday (local time). She replaces Mélanie Joly, who has been moved to the Ministry of Transportation and Internal Trade. A member of Canada's Liberal Party, Anita Anand took the oath of office by placing her hand on the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita.

PM Carney, while appointing Anita Anand as Foreign Minister, stated, "Her mission will be to re-establish the nearly broken ties with India. Additionally, she will have to strengthen relations with the United States by fostering better coordination with President Donald Trump." The newly appointed Foreign Minister, Anita Anand, has previously served in the Ministries of Transportation and Defence. In January, she had stated that she would leave politics and return to the education sector. However, after being re-elected in last month's elections, PM Carney convinced her to rejoin the cabinet and take charge of foreign affairs.

Carney inherited the cabinet from former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau but now has an opportunity to leave his mark. He had led the Liberal Party to victory in the elections last month. Since becoming PM, Carney has made several significant decisions.

In the cabinet of former Prime Minister Trudeau, there were 39 ministers. Carney has appointed 28 ministers in his cabinet and has instructed them to bring new ideas, a clear focus, and decisive action in their work. Three Indian-origin politicians from the previous cabinet have not been included in the new one. The number of Canadian ministers of Indian descent is lower in the new cabinet.

The Canadian PM has appointed Maninder Sidhu as the Minister of International Trade and two other people of Indian descent as State Secretaries. This position is considered equivalent to that of a junior minister.

Ruby Sahota, who was previously the Minister of Democratic Institutions, has been made a State Secretary and given responsibility for handling crime. Randeep Sarai is one of the ten State Secretaries, and he will handle international development.

During the tariff war with the United States, one of the most important ministries has been assigned to Dominic LeBlanc, who will be responsible for Canada-U.S. trade.

Chrystia Freeland, who was the Deputy Prime Minister with the Finance Ministry, had challenged Carney for the party leadership and the Ministry of Industry. Anand will replace Mélanie Joly, who has been moved to the Ministries of Transportation and Internal Trade.

Joly made headlines last year when she expelled six Indian diplomats, calling them "persons of interest" in the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied any involvement in this suspicious case, which had gang war indications, and in retaliation, Canadian diplomats were expelled. Harjit Singh Sajjan, who was the former Defence Minister, did not contest the House of Commons elections and left. From the previous cabinet, Arif Virani, who was the Justice Minister and Attorney General, and Kamal Khera, who was in charge of the Diversity and Inclusion Department for people with disabilities, have been removed by Carney.