PM Modi to attend G7 Summit in Canada; thanks Carney for invite

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he will be attending the G7 Summit later this month in Canada and that he looked forward to meeting his newly elected Canadian counterpart Mark Carney. This follows reports earlier this week that he was yet to receive an invite to the summit and would not be attending this year.

PM Modi thanked Carney for an invite to the summit, scheduled between 15 and 17 June in Kananaskis in Canada's Alberta province, in a telephone call he received from the Canadian prime minister.

"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," Modi posted on X.

India's ties with Canada turned frosty under the government of Carney's predecessor Justin Trudeau over a host of issues, including the activities of Khalistani separatists in the country.

Earlier this week, it was reported that for the first time in six years, Modi was unlikely to attend the G7 summit, quoting people familiar with the matter, who also said Ottawa was yet to send an invitation to the Indian prime minister for the summit and so his attendance would be too last-minute, but Modi would anyway have skipped it as such a visit would require a lot of groundwork considering the ties between the two sides.

Trudeau had alleged the likely Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a radical Khalistani activist. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were downgraded as the diplomatic row between them escalated.

G7 is the grouping of the world's seven wealthiest countries, and India has been getting an invitation to attend the prestigious summit since 2019.

The expected meeting between Modi and Carney, who is the new leader of the ruling Liberal Party following Trudeau's resignation as his party's fortunes dimmed under him, has raised the hope of a thaw in the ties between the countries. Carney was elected as prime minister in the snap elections in March this year.

The G7 bloc includes the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, besides Canada.

With PTI inputs