Carney Defends Modi’s G-7 Invite Amid Pro-Khalistan Backlash, Cites India’s Global Role

New Delhi: Under fire from pro-Khalistan organisations in Canada after inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the G-7 summit, Canadian PM Mark Carney justified his decision by pointing out that India is the fifth largest economy in the world and therefore needs to be part of the summit as a guest country. Also, it is understood that almost all the G-7 member nations were keen on an invite to PM Narendra Modi and may have played a major role in influencing Canada’s decision.

The summit will present an opportunity for an interaction on the sidelines between Mr Modi and the G-7 leaders. The G-7 summit will take place from June 15 to June 17 at Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada. Mr Modi’s visit to Canada will also be his first foreign visit since the launch of Operation Sindoor last month.

Though India is not a member of the G-7 grouping, which comprises seven of the “largest” advanced economies in the world — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, apart from the European Union (EU), Mr Modi has been invited to G-7 summits since 2019 by the respective host nations.

All the G-7 nations enjoy close and excellent ties with India currently, with the exception of the host, Canada, with whom ties had plummeted in the past two years. There is an upswing in the bilateral ties after Mr Carney assumed office in March this year.

Mr Carney was on Saturday (IST) quoted as saying, “There are certain countries that should be at the table for those discussions in my capacity as G-7 chair consultation. India is the fifth largest economy in the world, effectively the most populous in the world and central to a number of supply chains, so it makes sense. And in addition, bilaterally, we have now agreed importantly to continued law enforcement dialogue, so there's been some progress… I extended the invitation (for the G-7 summit) to Mr Modi in that context and he has accepted.”

Ties between India and Canada had deteriorated sharply from September 2023 onwards during the tenure of Mr Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, after he, as then PM, had accused India of involvement in the killing of Canadian citizen and pro-Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June that year on Canadian soil. India had dismissed the Canadian allegations as absurd.

India had dismissed the Canadian allegations as absurd.

Asked about the Nijjar case, Mr Carney said, “There is a legal process that is literally under way and quite advanced in Canada, and it’s never appropriate to make comments with respect to those legal processes.”

Pro-Khalistan extremist groups in Canada have termed Mr Carney’s decision to invite Mr Modia “betrayal”. The pro-Khalistan extremists had wielded tremendous influence on the government of Mr Trudeau, who was openly hostile to India.

Late on Friday evening (IST), Mr Carney had stated, “I spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today on the longstanding relationship between Canada and India, including deep people-to-people ties and significant commercial links. Importantly, we agreed to continue law enforcement dialogue and discussions addressing security concerns.”

The security concerns from Canada’s side are being seen as a pointer to the Nijjar case, while the security concerns from India’s viewpoint pertain to the political space and patronage provided to the pro-Khalistan extremists in Canada, particularly in the past few years.

In a statement on the call between Mr Modi and Mr Carney, Canada said, “The two leaders discussed the longstanding relationship between Canada and India, including deep people-to-people ties and significant commercial links..."

The statement added that Mr Carney and Mr Modi, during the conversation, agreed to remain in contact and looked forward to meeting at the G-7 leaders’ summit later this month.