During the G7 meeting, Modi and Trudeau interact briefly as tensions over the Nijjar massacre claims rise.

Toronto: On Friday, during the G7 leaders’ summit in Apulia, Italy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau had a brief meeting. This was the first time the two leaders had met since Trudeau revealed in the House of Commons on September 18, 2018, that there were “credible allegations” of a possible connection between Indian agents and the three-month-old murder of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.

The meeting was not scheduled by either PM on their official calendar.

Modi shared a picture of the two leaders together on X, none of them seemed to be smiling. A Canadian PMO official was quoted by the Globe and Mail in a statement that stated, “The Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his re-election and the leaders had a brief discussion on the bilateral relationship.” Of course, there are significant problems currently dividing our two nations. We hope you understand that we won’t be releasing any more information at this time,” the statement continued.

On June 5, after Modi was re-elected to a third term, Trudeau’s office released a statement. In that statement, it was said that “Canada stands ready to work together to advance the relationship between our peoples – anchored to human rights, diversity, and the rule of law” as both bilateral and Indo-Pacific partners. “India looks forward to working with Canada based on mutual understanding and respect for each other’s concerns,” was Modi’s response on X four days later.

They had last had a face-to-face meeting in September of last year at the G20 leaders’ conference in New Delhi. It was subsequently revealed that Trudeau had brought up the subject of Nijjar’s murder in that conversation. Trudeau “raised the importance of respecting the rule of law, democratic principles, and national sovereignty,” according to his PMO at the time.

At the time, a statement from the External Affairs Ministry emphasised New Delhi’s “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada” while stating that “mutual respect and trust” were crucial for the relationship to advance.

The next meeting of the G7 leaders will take place in Canada in 2025 in Kananaskis, Alberta. As an outreach partner for the earlier events in Italy, Germany, Japan, and the UK, India was invited. But when Canada last hosted the summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, in 2018, India was not invited.

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