Canada has appointed veteran diplomat Christopher Cooter as its new High Commissioner to India, a move widely seen as a step toward resetting strained relations between the two countries.

The announcement comes ten months after both nations expelled each other’s top envoys amid a bitter diplomatic row over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed Cooter’s appointment on Thursday, while India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced that senior diplomat Dinesh K. Patnaik, currently Ambassador to Spain, will serve as the next High Commissioner to Canada.

Cooter, who joined Canada’s External Affairs and International Trade ministry in 1990, has held senior diplomatic assignments in Kenya, India, Cambodia, NATO, and served as ambassador in Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Georgia, and Madagascar.

The appointment is viewed as part of a broader effort by both countries to rebuild trust after relations hit a low point under former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Tensions spiked when Trudeau alleged India’s involvement in Nijjar’s killing, prompting a series of retaliatory diplomatic measures. India firmly rejected the allegations as “absurd and motivated,” accusing Canada of harboring extremist elements.

With Mark Carney now serving as Canada’s Prime Minister, both Ottawa and New Delhi have taken steps to normalize relations. Carney extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the G7 Outreach Summit in June, where the two leaders held what officials described as “very constructive” talks. The decision to reinstate High Commissioners was part of those discussions.

The appointments of Cooter and Patnaik are expected to open a fresh chapter in India-Canada ties, with hopes that bilateral engagement will now focus on cooperation in trade, education, security, and people-to-people exchanges.