NEW DELHI: While on Sunday Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out to leaders in West Asia to discuss the attacks on Israel, he also brought up the issue of strained relations with India during the conversations.
On Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who happens to be one of India’s closest allies in the region. According to a statement from the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office, Trudeau discussed the current state of affairs between Canada and India during their conversation.
Taking to the microblogging site, X, he raised the issue of “India and the importance of upholding — and respecting — the rule of law.” His tweet read, “On the phone today, His Highness @MohammedBinZayed and I spoke about the current situation in Israel. We expressed our deep concern and discussed the need to protect civilian life. We also spoke about India and the importance of upholding — and respecting — the rule of law…”
Afterward, he had a conversation with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. Once more, the topic of India was part of their discussion, as the Canadian statement indicated, “Prime Minister Trudeau provided an update on the situation between Canada and India, underscoring the importance of respecting the rule of law and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”
The latter part pertained to India’s request for Canada to withdraw a minimum of 40 diplomats from its territory by Monday. According to reports, several Canadian diplomats have been reassigned to diplomatic missions in Singapore and Malaysia.
Trudeau also had a conversation with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the discussion about India was not mentioned in that statement. Additionally, Trudeau had brought up the issue with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday.
About India-Canada Row:
India-Canada relations have severely deteriorated following the statement made by Trudeau in the House of Commons on September 18, where he mentioned “credible allegations” of a possible connection between Indian operatives and the assassination of Khalistani figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18.
Nijjar was fatally shot in the parking area of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, an institution he led, situated in Surrey, a town located in the province of British Columbia. Although Indian authorities regarded Nijjar as a terrorist, no formal charges had been filed against him in Canada, nor had his case been examined in a Canadian court of law.