agency
calgary, june 17
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived in Calgary, Canada, to attend the G7 Summit at Kananaskis, being held amid the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
This is PM Modi’s first visit to Canada in a decade. The much-anticipated visit will see the Indian leader addressing the summit of the seven of the world’s most advanced industrialised economies and holding bilateral meetings with top global leaders on various issues, including the Iran-Israel and the Russia-Ukraine conflicts.
Besides Mr Modi, Canada has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the summit.
The possibility of a bilateral meeting between the PM and US President Donald Trump is ruled out since the American leader has returned to Washington a day early from the G7 meet to attend to important global and domestic issues.
PM Modi, who is on a three-nation tour, reached Canada after concluding a successful visit to Cyprus.
“At the Summit, the Prime Minister will exchange views with leaders of G7 countries, other invited outreach countries and Heads of International Organisations on crucial global issues, including energy security, technology and innovation, particularly the AI-energy nexus and Quantum-related issues,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Mr Modi is expected to speak at the G7 Outreach Summit scheduled later today. The Outreach Summit will be themed around three core issues – “Protecting our communities around the world”, “Building energy security and accelerating the digital transition”, and “Securing the partnerships of the future”.
During his meetings with the world leaders, the PM is expected to talk extensively on the issue of terrorism and Pakistan’s role in promoting the menace, since this is his first trip abroad after Operation Sindoor, undertaken by the Indian armed forces to destroy terrorist hideouts in Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam attack. All eyes will be on his bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart, given the state of relations between the two countries. Canadian PM Mark Carney’s invitation to Mr Modi to attend the G7 Summit is being seen as a significant step to reset bilateral ties, which turned a new low after the then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of Indian official agents in the killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023. India rejected his charge as ‘absurd’.
Now that Mr Trudeau is not at the helm, New Delhi hopes the two countries can rebuild ties on the basis of mutual trust and sensitivity.
