PM Modi arrived in the land of Maple after a decade. Modi reached Kananaskis for the G7 meeting hosted by Canada. Modi was personally invited to the G7 by Canadian counterpart Mark Carney despite the 2023 simmering dispute and India not being a G7 member. PM Carney’s invitation and Modi’s visit is construed as an indication that both nations are keen to reset bilateral relations and move forward.
India and Canada have indicated on resetting ties on Tuesday by formally accepting to upgrade the high commissions in each other’s capitals after the two year-long feud. This comes after having tense relations because of Ottawa’s accusations on New Delhi for being involved in killing the Sikh Separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder near a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia.
Modi and Carney met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. Modi stated that relations between India and Canada are “extremely important” and the two leaders look forward to having positive momentum in the relationship in the future. After the very first meeting between the leaders, Modi remarked “I believe that India-Canada relations are extremely important, and India and Canada should work together and achieve win-win cooperation in several areas.”
“Had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Complimented him and the Canadian Government for successfully hosting the G7 Summit. India and Canada are connected by a strong belief in democracy, freedom and rule of law. PM Carney and I look forward to working closely to add momentum to the India-Canada friendship. Areas like trade, energy, space, clean energy, critical minerals, fertilisers and more offer immense potential in this regard,”PM Modi posted on X after the meeting.
PM Modi’s visit comes after the heavy accusations made by the then Trudeau Government blaming Indian Agents to be involved in the killing of the Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Relations were further strained by the expulsions of the High Commissioners and 5 diplomats each from each country. New Delhi has denied all the accusations till date, reiterating that New Delhi strongly rejects the “preposterous imputations” from Ottawa.
Why did Canadian PM Mark Carney invite PM Modi to G7?
Carney extended a special invite to Modi by personally inviting him over a phone call. He declared that “India is the fifth-largest economy in the world, the most populous country in the world and central to supply chains, I extended the invitation to Prime Minister Modi and, in that context, he has accepted”.
Modi accepted the invite and posted on twitter stating “Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister @MarkJCarney of Canada. Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month. As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit.”
India is not even a G7 member but is still important for G7 for several factors and has been invited to all the G7 meetings since the year 2019. India and Canada are significantly important to one another with New Delhi being Ottawa’s 10th largest trading partner.
Even after the deteriorated ties, India and Canada’s trade rose and touched to $9.8 billion in 2024 from $8.2 billion in 2023.
The Khalistani Angle
Khalistan is a movement’s name of a proposed state depictured by some Sikhs where Nijjar himself was an Independent Campaigner for the Sikh Separatist movement. This movement traction fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s in India. On June 18, Nijjar was shot down by masked gunmen in June 2023 outside a Sikh temple in Surrey.
Nijjar supported the demand of Khalistanis demanding a Sikh homeland and was also organizing an Unofficial referendum in India for an Independent Sikh nation.
Canada’s intelligence Agency, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for the first time acknowledged that Khalistani terrorists are using Canada’s soil to promote their agenda of an independent nation of their own and plan violence in Indian territory.
CSIS stated “Khalistani extremists continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India”. This statement of CSIS comes just a day after PM Modi and PM Carney met on the sidelines of the G7 meeting. The meeting lasted for 40 minutes. Both sides agreed to restore stability in the nations and announced the reappointment of High Commissioners to each other’s capitals.
Who was not happy with the invitation?
The G7 Summit was a huge success in the leadership of Mark Carney, though some were not happy, Balpreet Singh, spokesperson for the World Sikh Organization of Canada called Carney’s invitation to Modi a “betrayal of Canadian values”.
“The summit to which Mr. Modi is being invited falls on the anniversary of the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar two years ago,” he said. “So for us, this is unacceptable, it’s shocking and it’s a complete reversal of the principled stand that Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau had taken.”
These statements come just after PM Carney’s invitation to India’s PM Modi.
What all was discussed in the Meeting between Modi and Carney?
First meeting after the Nijjar murder case was concluded on a positive note, New Delhi and Ottawa have decided to restore ties and reinstate the High Commissioners to each country. Both the leaders discussed trade, visa services and other mechanisms.
In the sidelines of G7, the meeting between the leaders emphasized deep respect, mutual understanding and people-to-people links to be the basis for a balanced relationship.
India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri stated that “leaders agreed to take calibrated steps to restore stability, committing a resumption of senior level talks, and ministerial and other working – level engagements across domains to rebuild trust”.
Carney, in turn, in a readout, lauded India’s persistent participation in all the G7 summits since the year 2018 and acknowledged India’s growing influence. He stated “Prime Minister Modi has attended every G7 since 2018, which reflects the size and dynamism of the Indian economy, Indian technology, and India’s leadership across platforms like the G20.”
(This article has been written by Ms Gurleen Kaur, Youth and Cultural Ambassador, The Diplomatic Club, India, as part of a special arrangement with TFI)
