Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated Monday he sees a brand new opening to interact with India within the wake of that nation’s election, which returned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to workplace for a 3rd time period.
“Now that he is by means of his election, I feel there is a chance for us to interact, together with on some very critical points round nationwide safety and retaining Canadians secure and the rule of regulation,” Trudeau instructed David Cochrane, host of the CBC Information program Energy and Politics.
Trudeau additionally referred to his transient assembly with Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy final week. The Indian PM tweeted out a photograph of the assembly by which the 2 males seem critical and sombre as they shake fingers.
“I feel one of many actually good issues about summits is you get a possibility to interact immediately with an enormous vary of various leaders with whom there are numerous points,” Trudeau stated. “And definitely with India, there are huge people-to-people ties, there are actually necessary financial ties, there’s alignment on a lot of massive points that we have to work on as democracies, as a world neighborhood.”
It was not clear earlier than the summit if the 2 leaders would keep away from each other, given the tensions over the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June final yr, which Trudeau blamed on the federal government of India.
Tuesday marks the primary anniversary of Nijjar’s demise and his supporters plan to stage a mock trial of Modi outdoors the Indian consulate in Vancouver.
India has often objected to provocative acts outdoors its diplomatic missions by Sikh Khalistanis (separatists) in Canada, the U.Ok. and different international locations.
India has lifted the vacationer visa ban it imposed on Canadians within the wake of the Nijjar dispute, however Canada continues to function with a much-reduced diplomatic presence in India after the Modi authorities ordered the departure of 41 out of 62 Canadian diplomats within the nation.
This weekend noticed the extradition from Prague to the USA of alleged Indian drug trafficker Nikhil Gupta, who’s accused by U.S. prosecutors of appearing as a intermediary for Indian officers trying to rent a hitman to kill an enemy of the Indian authorities in New York Metropolis.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discusses his latest assembly with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the G7 summit in Italy throughout an interview with CBC’s Energy and Politics host David Cochrane. It was the primary time the 2 leaders met since Trudeau publicly accused India’s authorities of being concerned within the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C.
The goal of the alleged homicide conspiracy was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S.-Canadian joint citizen who was a detailed collaborator of Nijjar and chief of the group Sikhs for Justice.
The Modi authorities has not denied that Indian officers have been concerned in that homicide conspiracy, however has claimed it was a rogue operation that’s now being investigated by India.
U.S. prosecutors say Gupta was supplied cash and leniency on drug prices in return for his half within the conspiracy. He has pleaded not responsible.
On Monday, 5 U.S. senators wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken citing the Pannun and Nijjar instances and demanding that Washington not settle for the rogue operative concept.
Senators Jeffrey Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden — all Democrats — stated the USA “should match phrases with actions to carry Indian officers concerned within the plot accountable, and to ship a transparent message that there shall be penalties for such behaviour.”
