Ottawa/New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke with Canada’s new PM Mark Carney, discussing various global issues while also accepting the latter’s invitation to attend the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month.

“Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister Mark 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. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit,” PM Modi posted on X after the phone call.

As the G7 President this year, Canada will host the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta from June 15 to 17.

The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s most advanced economies, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union.

PM Modi had also attended the 50th G7 Summit hosted by Italy in Apulia last year where India was invited as an Outreach Country.

The visit was the Prime Minister’s first overseas trip after assuming office in his third consecutive term.

It was India’s 11th participation in G7 Summit and Prime Minister Modi’s fifth consecutive participation at the G7 Summit where he engaged with other world leaders on issues of importance to India, as also to the Global South.

The visit to Kananaskis will come at a time when Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney is pushing for deepening economic cooperation with India.

Even during his campaign, the Canadian Prime Minister said rebuilding ties with India was a priority for his government, describing it as an “incredibly important relationship”.

He had said Canadians have deep personal, economic and strategic ties with India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Carney on being elected as the Canadian Prime Minister after his predecessor Justin Trudeau stepped down from the role.

In his message, PM Modi had stressed strong people-to-people ties between the two countries while saying he was looking forward to “unlocking greater opportunities”.

Last week, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar spoke with Anita Anand after her appointment as Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“Thank you Minister @DrSJaishankar for the productive discussion today on strengthening Canada-India ties, deepening our economic cooperation, and advancing shared priorities. I look forward to continuing our work together,” Anand wrote on X.

With Carney, it looks like India wants to turn a new leaf in bilateral ties that had nosedived under Trudeau amid unsubstantiated allegations against New Delhi related to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.

Relations between India and Canada took a big hit in 2023 after Trudeau publicly accused India of being involved in the killing of Nijjar on Canadian soil, allegations that India described as “absurd” and “politically motivated”.

Tensions escalated as Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, followed by a tit-for-tat move by India last year.

Both countries expelled top envoys, froze trade talks and suspended official visits.

India has accused Canada of tolerating extremism on its soil and failing to take action to curb attacks against its diplomats.

–IANS

/as