PM Modi set to attend the G 7 summit after he received a call from Canadian PM Carney

New Delhi (India) June 7: PM Modi received a call from Canadian PM Mark Carney inviting him to the 51st G7 summit, which will start in eight days in Kananaskis, Alberta. Modi said he was excited to meet him at the summit and accepted the invitation.

Modi's decision on X came after over a week of speculation about his attendance due to a lack of invitation, which caused anger from the opposition over his possible exclusion from the summit. Modi has been invited to every summit since 2019, despite India not being a G7 member. Modi thanked Carney for the invitation and congratulated him on winning the poll.

PM Modi posted, “Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister Mark J Carney of Canada. Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month. As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests” on social media platform X.

Prime Minister Carney of Canada said in a statement that he and Mr. Modi had talked about the bilateral connection which included personal and commercial connections. He also subtly mentioned the Khalistan question and the Nijjar case.

The statement said, “Importantly, there was agreement to continue law enforcement dialogue and discussions addressing security concerns.”

The announcement comes after rumours that PM Modi will boycott the summit due to strained relations between Canada and India. Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs said that there was "no information" regarding PM Modi's G7 summit.

The murder of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada caused the two nations' relations to deteriorate. The matter attracted international attention when the then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Narendra Modi government of taking part in the incident. Trudeau's accusations were strongly rejected by India, which referred to them as "baseless.”

The last time Modi was in Canada was in 2015. Although there are rumours that the two nations are also thinking about re-appointing high commissioners, Canadian and Indian officials say they are taking things slowly and are focussing on mending their relationship.

This will be Modi's first international trip since the military conflict with Pakistan. The prime minister is probably going to take the chance to draw attention to India's worries about Pakistan's ongoing backing for cross-border terrorism and India's use of force to stop terrorist activities.

The greatest industrialised economies in the world France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States and Canada are all members of the G7. The European Union (EU), the World Bank, the IMF, and the UN are all invited to attend the G 7 summit.

Aadrika Tayal