It's official: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh to meet Canadian PM Trudeau in Amritsar

Mumbai: Ending rumours of uncertainty over his meeting with Justin Trudeau, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said he is looking forward to meeting the Canadian Prime Minister when he arrives in Amritsar on Wednesday.

The Punjab chief minister would be the first major Indian leader to meet the visiting prime minister Justin Trudeau during his maiden state visit. The Canadian Prime Minister, who arrived in India on Saturday evening, was received by MoS Agriculture Gajendra Singh at the Delhi airport.

The statement by the Punjab CM holds significance amid speculation that Trudeau will not meet with him, since he has publicly denounced members of Trudeau’s cabinet for allegedly being connected to the Khalistani separatist movement. Previously, Amarinder Singh had called Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan as a ‘Khalistani sympathiser’, during the latter’s visit to India in April, 2017.

While announcing that the meet would take place, the Punjab Chief Minister said he is hopeful that the meeting will help strengthen the close Indo-Canadian business ties as well as the deep-rooted people-to-people relations between our two countries.

According to reports, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had already issued instructions to the state administration to roll out the red carpet for the visiting dignitary’s February 21 visit but was awaiting permission from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to hold a structured meeting.

Trudeau had arrived in India on Saturday evening on a week-long visit. He is accompanied by his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and three children -- Hadrien, Ella-Grace Margaret and Xavier James Trudeau - besides prominent members of his cabinet.

The 46-year-old Canadian Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. Sikhs account for less than 1.5 per cent of Canada's population.