Committed to work together: Canadian PM Trudeau on meeting with PM Modi

New Delhi: Amidst severe strain in bilateral ties, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was committed to work with India on significant issues after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, southern Italy.

The meeting marked the first high-level interaction following strained diplomatic relations over pro-Khalistani extremism. The strain escalated after Trudeau alleged Canadian authorities were investigating "credible allegations" of Indian government involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist. These allegations, made last year, were strongly rejected by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as "absurd and motivated."

Trudeau, speaking at a press conference in Savelletri Di Fasano, the concluding day of the three-day G7 Summit, stated, "I'm not going to get into the details of this important, sensitive issue that we need to follow up, but this was a commitment to work together, in the coming times, to deal with some very important issues."

Modi had shared an image on social media of the two leaders shaking hands on Friday, with a brief caption, "Met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit."

The Canadian Prime Minister's Office later said the leaders had a "brief discussion on the bilateral relationship," during which Trudeau also congratulated Modi on his re-election. Spokesperson Ann-Clara Vaillancourt told the Canadian Press news agency, “Of course, there are important issues between our two countries right now. You can appreciate that we won't be making any further statements at this time.”