Amidst significant tension in bilateral relations, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Saturday a commitment to collaborate with India on some “very important issues” following his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G7 Summit.
Modi shared a photo on social media on Friday, showing the two leaders shaking hands, accompanied by a brief caption stating, “Met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit.”
The meeting, which occurred on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, southern Italy, was the first since diplomatic relations soured over pro-Khalistani extremism. Trudeau had previously claimed that Canadian authorities were “actively pursuing credible allegations” of the Indian government’s involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist.
These allegations were firmly dismissed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as “absurd and motivated.”
“I’m not going to get into the details of this important, sensitive issue that we need to follow up, but this was a commitment to work together, in the coming times, to deal with some very important issues,” Trudeau told reporters at a press conference in Savelletri Di Fasano, Italy, on Saturday, the final day of the three-day G7 Summit.
The last encounter between the two leaders occurred during the G20 Summit hosted by India in September.
Shortly after Friday evening’s meeting, the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office stated that the leaders had a “brief discussion on the bilateral relationship,” during which Trudeau also congratulated Modi on his re-election.
“Of course, there are important issues between our two countries right now. You can appreciate that we won’t be making any further statements at this time,” spokesperson Ann-Clara Vaillancourt told the Canadian Press news agency.
India has consistently maintained that the primary issue between the two nations is Canada’s tolerance of pro-Khalistan elements operating freely from its territory. New Delhi has time and again conveyed its "deep concerns" to Canada and expects Ottawa to take resolute action against such elements.
The murder of Nijjar is being probed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and four Indian nationals have been arrested in this case.
Modi’s meeting with Trudeau concluded a busy day of bilateral discussions for the Prime Minister, which included meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the summit’s host. Modi also engaged with other world leaders present at the summit, including US President Joe Biden.
Prime Minister Modi joined leaders from Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritania, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to address the Outreach session on Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean, alongside Pope Francis, at Meloni’s invitation.
