India, Aug. 28 -- India on Thursday named senior diplomat Dinesh K Patnaik as the new high commissioner to Canada, filling a position that was vacant for the past 10 months and marking another step in the normalisation of bilateral relations after a prolonged row over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.

Patnaik, a 1990 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, is expected to take up the assignment in Ottawa shortly, the external affairs ministry said in a statement. He is currently India's ambassador to Spain.

The Canadian side is expected to name Christopher Cooter, who last served as the charge d'affaires in Israel, as the new high commissioner to India, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Canada has...