India and Canada: New beginning of the relationships according to Sikh attack

India and Canada: New beginning of the relationships according to Sikh attack

On Tuesday, India and Canada signaled a realignment of their relationships by agreed to set up high commissions again in the capitals of the other. This happened after almost two years tense relationships that new delhi was supposedly involved in the murder of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

meetings of heads of state

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney, who took office in March, announced this step after a meeting on the edge of the G7 summit in the Canadian rockies.

ottawa and Neu-Delhi said they were ready to "name new high commissioners in order to restore the regular services for citizens and companies in both countries," said a message from Carney's office after the meeting.

allegations and their effects

This agreement comes almost two years after the public allegations of the former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Canadian official, the new Delhi in the murder of the prominent Sikh separatist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar accused in a suburb of Vancouver in 2023. The Canadian authorities stated that they had shared evidence of this with new delhi. However, the Indian government representatives repeatedly rejected that Canada had presented evidence and described the allegations as "absurd and motivated".

diplomatic tensions and invitations

The relationships between the two countries sank strongly according to these allegations, which for mutual Diplomatic Extentions , a temporary suspension of visa services and allegations of India, Kanada shooters "terrorists" and promotes "anti-Indian activities"-an assertion that the Canadian government rejects.

Carney invited modes to take part in the summit, although India is not a G7 member. He explained that it makes sense to have the leader of the most populous country in the world at the table, if "big challenges" should be discussed, according to the CNN partner cbc .

positive atmosphere at the summit

There were no signs of tensions on Tuesday when modes and Carney shook their hands in the western Canadian province of Alberta. The Canadian Prime Minister described it as a "great honor" to receive the Indian leader at the G7. Carney said: "In my opinion, India has come to the G7 summit since 2018 ... And that is proof of the importance of your country, for your leadership and for the importance of the topics that we want to tackle together."

Modi also gave himself a friendly commentary on Carney: "I had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney," he wrote on X. "India and Canada are connected by the strong belief in democracy, freedom and the rule of law. Prime Minister Carney and I look forward to working closely together to give the friendship between India and Canada a new impetus."

common topics and challenges

The Canadian Prime Minister's office said that the two discussed the possibilities of promoting the "deepening of engagement" in areas such as technology, digital transformation, nutritional security and critical minerals. However, neither Modi nor Carney publicly mentioned that they had addressed the recent tense relationships or the murder of Nijjar.

background to the murder of Nijjar

Nijjar, who was shot by masked men in front of a Sikh Temple in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2023, was a prominent fighter for an independent Sikh home in northern India, which as Khalistan . The demand for the creation of Khalistan has long been considered a security threat to New Delhi and is illegal in India-numerous groups associated with Movement are classified as "terrorist organizations" according to Indian law.

Nevertheless, the movement is particularly popular in the diaspora, where activists are protected by laws on freedom of expression, a certain degree of sympathy.

protests and public reactions

Since the beginning of the summit on Sunday, numerous Sikh protesters in Calgary, Alberta, have been seen, the Khalistan flags, according to the CNN partner CTV . Some demonstrators expressed outrage over Modi's visit, while other justice demanded Nijjar's murder.

When Carney was asked after a conversation with Modi during a press conference after the murder of Nijjar, he said: "There is an ongoing judicial process and I have to be careful with other comments." Carney also made it clear that he had spoken to Modi about Nijjar last week when he was asked about the Sikh separatist and the ongoing police investigation.

The reporting of CNNS Martin Goillandeau contributed to this article.