Days after meeting PM Modi in Italy, Canada PM Trudeau sees ‘opportunity’ to engage

Justin Trudeau told Canadian media that there is an “opportunity” for India and Canada to engage, after meeting PM Modi in Italy for G7 summit.

Amid strained ties between both the countries, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he sees “opportunity” in engaging with the new government in India. His statement comes days after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Italy for the G7 summit. He also said that the relations with India are “really important economic ties.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy (ANI)

While speaking to Canadian media, Trudeau said that a very good thing about the G7 summit is that one gets the opportunity to directly engage with a huge range of different leaders, with whom there are multiple issues to be raised.

The Canadian prime minister said, "…and certainly with India, there are massive people to people ties, they're really important economic ties."

“There's alignment on a number of big issues that we need to work on as, as democracies as a global community. 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,” Trudeau was quoted as saying by CBC News.

While speaking on the Nijjar murder case and whether there is an improvement in cooperation from India in the probe, Trudeau said, “There is work ongoing very much.”

Trudeau's statement on Tuesday comes days after he briefly interacted with PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. This was PM Modi's first international visit after he won the Lok Sabha election 2024 and got elected for the third consecutive term.

This was also the first time PM Modi and Trudeau were meeting face-to-face after the Canadian PM alleged that the Indian government may potentially be involved in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an Indian-designated terrorist.

India, however, strongly rejected the allegations posed by the Canadian government in the matter, them "absurd and motivated". The Indian government also accused Canada of giving space to pro-Khalistani elements for operating from the country.