Deepak Dwivedi
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement that it “makes sense” to have India at the G7 Summit reflects acknowledgment of a global reality. By personally calling and inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the upcoming summit, Carney has taken a sagacious step to recognise the role of the world’s fastest-growing economy in the midst of a shift in global economic order.
“There are certain countries that should be at the table for those discussions,” Carney said, responding to a question. “India is the fifth largest economy in the world, effectively the most populous country in the world. (It is) central to a number of those supply chains; (it is) at the heart of a number of those supply chains, so it makes sense,” he reiterated.
The decision also underscores a desire to reset the Indo-Canadian relations, which have gone through a rough patch in recent times. Carney’s victory in the national election in April, as the head of the Liberal Party, raised hopes of a thaw in the ties.
Carney’s positive approach towards India will discourage the anti-India elements in that country, especially the pro-Khalistani groups, and send a strong message that they cannot take Canadian freedom for granted. The invitation has dispelled speculation that Ottawa may eventually exclude India from the summit it is hosting from June 15 to 17. Carney has taken a pragmatic approach by inviting PM Modi, who attended the last six summits.
G7 is the group of the most powerful and industrialised countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Normally, five more countries, which are industrially developed, are also invited to the meeting. India has regularly been participating in these meetings.
The Indo-Canadian relations came under severe strain ever since Justin Trudeau took over as the Prime Minister in 2015. It was during Trudeau’s prime ministership that the radical elements in Canada got emboldened, and there were frequent attacks on Indian consulates in different cities of Canada. India has been repeatedly flagging the growing antiIndia activities on Canadian soil. However, instead of taking any action, Trudeau accused Indian Government of being involved in the killing of a pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjer.
In this competitive game of appeasement of the radicals, Trudeau ended up straining the relationship with one of the friendliest countries. Right now, the two countries have reduced the level of diplomatic relations after India withdrew its High Commissioner Sanjeev Verma from Ottawa last year.
It is hoped that Carney would start focusing on reviving friendly ties with India once he gets rid of the immediate diplomatic concerns with the US. Also, PM Modi’s acceptance of the invite reflects a strategic rebalancing – that serves not only India’s global ambitions but also signals Canada’s interest in charting a new course.
London-bound AI plane crashes in Ahmedabad
AN Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12. Among those on board were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese, besides 12 crew members.
