Truce! PM Modi, Canada's Mike Carney agree to restore diplomats

The G7 venue in Canada's Alberta on Tuesday bore witness to the thaw between India and Canada, as both countries decided to restore their top diplomats. The breakthrough came eight months after the tensions over Canada's accusations that India orchestrated the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar boiled over, forcing India to expel Canadian diplomats from the country, including Canada's acting high commissioner.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited by his Canadian counterpart Mike Carney as a guest at the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) major economies. 

 

A statement by the Canadian Prime Minister’s office said the two countries would name new high commissioners, as ambassadors are known between Commonwealth nations. The two leaders made the decision "with a view to returning to regular services to citizens and businesses in both countries".

 

"It’s a testament to the importance of your country, to your leadership, and to the importance of the issues that we look to tackle together,” Carney said.

 

The row that happened during the tenure of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had severely affected the diplomatic services between the two countries, which had $9bn worth of trade relations, besides the active presence of the Indian diaspora in Canada.

 

Modi, on arrival in Alberta, took a soft tone when he met Carney at the mountain resort. Congratulating Carney on his election to the top post, Modi said: "I believe that India-Canada relations are extremely important, and India and Canada should work together," Modi said, noting that the two countries share democratic values.  

 

Modi called the meeting with Carney “excellent” in a post on X.

 

The Canadian Prime Minister said it was a "great honour" to welcome Modi to the G7 summit but made a passing allusion to the controversy in his statement with a reference to "transnational repression." 

 

The thaw in relations came despite some sections of Sikh outfits protesting against Carney's decision to invite Modi to the Summit. The left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) had slammed the decision, stating the decision "undermines all efforts to defend human rights, transparency, and the rule of law."  Sikh protesters rallied on the streets of Calgary, the closest large city to the summit, as many criticised Carney’s inclusion of Modi.

 

The NDP was a part of the Trudeau government but was booted out in the recent election when its leader, pro-Khalistani Jagmeet Singh lost even his seat. 

 

However, Carney's government seems to have decided to restore the relations amid reports that the government sources were becoming wary of the influence yielded by these pro-Khalistani groups in the government. 

Former Canadian PM and leader of the Conservatives, Stephen Harper, was one of the leaders who sought to restore relations with India.

 

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