New Delhi [India]: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and raised “strong concerns” about the continuous “anti-India activities” by extremist elements in Canada, and stated that it is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.
The two leaders held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
PM Trudeau also congratulated PM Modi on the success of India’s G20 Presidency.
During the meeting, PM Modi highlighted that India-Canada relations are anchored in shared democratic values, respect for rule of law and strong people-to-people ties, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
“He conveyed our strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada. They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship,” the MEA said in a statement.
It added, “The nexus of such forces with organized crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well. It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats”.
Prime Minister Modi also mentioned that a relationship based on mutual respect and trust is essential for the progress of India-Canada relationship.
Earlier in the day, Trudeau had said that he had many conversations with PM Narendra Modi on the issue of Khalistan extremism and “foreign interference”, and Canada will always defend freedom of expression, and at the same time will always be there to prevent violence.
He further emphasized that the “actions of the few” do not represent the entire community or Canada.
“Both the issues came up. Over the years, with PM Modi, we have had many conversations on both of those issues. Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom of peaceful protest and it is extremely important to us. At the same time, we are always there to prevent violence and to push back against hatred,” Trudeau said.
He added, “I think on the issue of the community, it is important to remember that the actions of the few do not represent the entire community or Canada. The flip side of it, we also highlighted the importance of respecting the rule of law and we did talk about foreign interference”.
PM Modi tweeted after his meeting with Trudeau “Met PM @JustinTrudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. We discussed the full range of India-Canada ties across different sectors.”
Prior to their discussion, the world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau paid a visit to Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi on Sunday morning.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in India on Friday to attend the G20 Summit. The Canadian PM, accompanied by his son Xavier, was received by the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
The Canadian PM had recently called India a key partner in the promotion of shared values of democracy.
Trudeau said Canada is home to one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world, adding that nearly 1.4 million people of Indian origin live in the country.
