Canada has snapped diplomatic ties with Iran, closing its embassy in Teheran and said it would ask Iranian diplomat in Canada to leave the country today. The Canadian Foreign Minister cited Teheran’s nuclear programme, its support for the Syrian regime , threats against Israel and the concern for the mission’s safety as important factors for the decision. He said that Canada views the Iran Government as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world. In a statement, he accused Iran of showing blatant disregard for the safety of foreign diplomats. Canada had earlier closed the visa section in Iranian embassy in Ottawa, which was used by thousands of Iranians with ties to Canada. After US and Britain, Canada is the third country to have severed diplomatic ties with Iran. Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany gave a call for new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

Announcement

 The government plans to set up 100 community colleges during the current academic session to impart vocational training. Addressing a global skills summit in New Delhi today, Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal said, of these colleges, Canada will partner in setting up of 10 colleges. He said, the government has recently launched a vocational educational programme in around 40 schools in Haryana and it would be done all over the country in the coming months.

Expressing concern over the quality of skill development training, adviser to the Prime Minister on skill development, S Ramadorai, emphasised on bringing about a dramatic change in the programme. He said, the challenges are the quality of inputs that go into training, infrastructure, training methodologies and acute shortage of faculty in vocational education.

Earlier, industry body FICCI and Association of Canadian Community Colleges signed an MoU to collaborate in skill development.

The MOU will enable meaningful partnership arrangements in capacity-building to evolve between Canadian colleges, institutes and polytechnics and Indian community colleges.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has said that India is keen to accelerate economic ties with Canada as both countries are working on a number of bilateral agreements that will boost trade and investment between them.
According to an official release issued in New Delhi, Mr Krishna said that both the countries reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and agreed on further strengthening the relationship as there are exciting opportunities for trade and investment. The statement has been issued after the meeting with his counterpart John Baird in Toronto.
The Minister said that the proposed Bilateral Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) that aimed at protecting and promoting foreign investment through legally-binding rights and obligations would become a reality soon. Mr Krishna said, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Canada, organised in partnership with the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, was an important component of the celebration of the Year of India in Canada. He said that the very fact that the mini-PBD was held in Canada is a recognition and acknowledgment of the important role of the Indo-Canadian community in building bridges between the two countries. Mr Krishna said, India-Canada relations have never been as close as they are today.
Mr Krishna was in Toronto for a two-day stopover visit after wrapping up his visit to the United States and Cuba.