PM Modi On Third Term, Canada Wants To Engage On “Very Serious Issues”

New Delhi:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed hope that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi back for a third term, talks with India can resume on “some very serious issues around national security and keeping Canadians safe and the rule of law” — issues that had caused friction between the two nations last year.

Mr Trudeau had voiced his expectation in an interview with CBC News today. “There’s alignment on a number of big issues that we need to work on as, as democracies as a global community,” he said.

“But now that he (Modi) is through his election, I think there is an opportunity for us to engage, including on some very serious issues around national security and keeping Canadians safe and the rule of law that we will be engaging,” he added.

India-Canada ties have been under strain since last year, after Mr Trudeau’s allegations about the “potential” involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India’s most-wanted terrorist who is also a Canadian citizen.

India rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated” and expressed concern about Canada becoming a hub of pro-Khalistan Sikhs — which Canada has so far not acknowledged.

Mr Trudeau’s comments came after PM Modi tweeted a photo of their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Italy.

Unlike the photos of meeting with other leaders he tweeted — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — the caption for the meeting with Trudeau was just a one-liner.

Met Canadian PM @JustinTrudeau at the G7 Summit. pic.twitter.com/e67ajADDWi

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 14, 2024

The meeting was a sequel to the exchange of tweets between the two leaders after the results of the general election came out earlier this month.

“Congratulations to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his electoral victory. Canada stands ready to work with his government to advance the relationship between our nations’ peoples—anchored to human rights, diversity, and the rule of law,” Mr Trudeau’s post read.

In response, PM Modi posted, “Thank you @CanadianPM for the congratulatory message. India looks forward to working with Canada based on mutual understanding and respect for each others concerns,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

Thank you @CanadianPM for the congratulatory message. India looks forward to working with Canada based on mutual understanding and respect for each others concerns. https://t.co/QQJFngoMyH

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 10, 2024

Mr Trudeau’s tweet came on June 6 – a day a Canadian parliamentary committee designated India as the second-most significant threat to Canada’s democracy.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June last year. The murder is being investigated by the Royal Canada Mounted Police and four persons have been arrested.