Trudeau and Modi meet for first time since Canada publicly accused India of Sikh leader's assassination

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for the first time since Trudeau publicly accused Modi's government of being involved in the assassination of a Canadian Sikh activist.

Modiposted onephototo his 98 million followers on X, formerly Twitter, of the two leaders shaking hands Friday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.

“I met Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau at the G7 summit,” he wrote.

No formal bilateral meeting between the two leaders was planned.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office said the two leaders had an “interaction on the sidelines of the G7”.

“The Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his re-election and the leaders had a brief discussion on the bilateral relationship,” Ann-Clara Vaillancourt said in a media statement. “Of course, there are currently important issues between our two countries. You can understand that we will not make any further statements at this time.”

Earlier on Friday, Trudeau and Modi were both around the same G7 table during an outreach session. They were placed about six seats apart, according to video footage.

India was one of the countries invited to observe this year's annual summit of major advanced democratic economies. It is not a member of the G7.

Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders at the summit, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but has no meeting scheduled with Trudeau on Friday, according to Trudeau's public itinerary.

The last time Trudeau met Modi in person was during the tense G20 summit in India in September 2023. The same month, after returning from the trip, Trudeau stood up in the House of Commons and accused the Indian government for being involved in the brazen shooting of a Sikh activist. Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Earlier this month, Trudeau felicityModi on his re-election.

“Canada stands ready to work with its government to advance relationships between the people of our nations, anchored in human rights, diversity and the rule of law,” he said at the time.

A few days later, Modi answered thethanking Trudeau for the congratulatory message.

“India looks forward to working with Canada on the basis of mutual understanding and respect for each other’s concerns,” he wrote.

The Modi government denied the allegations

Nijjar was brazenly shot to death by masked gunmen in his pickup truck in June 2023 in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia.

Nijjar favored a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state. He had been deemed a “terrorist” by the Indian government and accused of leading a separatist militant group, a claim denied by his supporters.

“Canadian security agencies are actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between Indian government agents” and Nijjar’s killing, Trudeau said.

Four Indian nationals Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh and Amandeep Singhwere arrested last monthand charged in connection with the murder of Nijjar.

Modi's government has denied ordering killings in Canada. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar initially called Canada's allegations “absurd” and accused Canada of harboring violent extremists.

Report warns of India's political interference in Canada

These allegations have damaged already precarious bilateral relations between India and Canada, which became even more difficult last week.

An explosive report by an all-party committee of Canadian parliamentarians on foreign interference says India is the most important country. second greatest foreign threat to Canadian democracy after China.

The report contained the strongest warnings yet about India's attempts to interfere in Canadian politics.

“India seeks to cultivate relationships with a variety of conscious or unwitting individuals across Canadian society with the aim of inappropriately exerting its influence over all levels of government, particularly to stifle or discredit criticism of towards the Government of India,” the report said.

The heavily worded report also says intelligence suggests “India has an active proxy, who has proactively sought ways to advance India's interests by monitoring and attempting to influence politicians “.

One memo states that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has information indicating that an Indian proxy “repeatedly transferred funds from India to politicians at all levels of government in exchange for political favors, notably by raising questions in Parliament.

At a press briefing Wednesday ahead of the G7, Indian Foreign Minister Vinay Mohan Kwatradid did not say whether Modi and Trudeau would have a bilateral meeting at the summit.

“I think the main issue facing Canada continues to be the political space that Canada provides to anti-Indian elements, who advocate extremism and violence, and we have repeatedly expressed our deep concerns to them , and we expect them to take strong action,” he told reporters.

An expert said Friday that the leaders' meeting could be a sign of improving relations between India and Canada.

“The fact that they spoke given what has happened over the past year suggests that there is progress in repairing the relationship,” said Tristen Naylor, assistant professor of history and politics at the University of Cambridge.

Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and professor of international affairs at the University of Ottawa, said relations between the two countries were “strained for obvious reasons.”

“It is also important that Canada maintains open channels of communication with India, because India remains an important partner in other areas,” he told CBC News in an interview before the summit.