PM Modi arrives in Canada for G7 Summit

Kananaskis (Canada):  Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Canada’s Calgary on Monday to participate in the G7 Summit here at the invitation of Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.

On arrival, he was met by Acting Indian High Commissioner Chinmoy Naik, Canadian officials, and leaders of Canada’s First Nation, the native people of the country.

He will go to the picturesque resort town of Kananaskis where the summit started earlier on Monday under tight security and will feature him and other invitees at Tuesday’s session.

PM Modi arrived here after a stopover in Cyprus, where he had “wide-ranging talks, covering the full range of India-Cyprus relations” with President Nikos Christodoulides.

Before leaving India, PM Modi posted on X that the G7 summit “will give a great platform to exchange perspectives on various global issues and elaborate on the priorities of the Global South”.

He will be interacting with G7 leaders, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Ministers Keir Starmer of Britain, Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Shigeru Ishiba of Japan, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa along with host Carney, who is also the President of G7.

PM Modi will be missing US President Donald Trump, who was cutting short his presence at the summit to return home to deal with the Iran-Israel crisis.

Other invitees to the G7 meeting are Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Lee Jae-Myung of South Korea, and Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.

This will be an opportunity for PM Modi to have face-to-face meetings with these powerful leaders of industrialised and emerging democracies after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor targeting terrorist outfits operating in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

PM Modi’s visit comes at a pivotal moment for India-Canada relations, which Carney is trying to reset after it had been marred by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was influenced by Khalistan supporters.

Mann Parekh, a member of the Indian diaspora, told IANS, “It’s no secret that Canada-India relations haven’t been at their best over the past few years. But Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation is a ray of new hope, an opportunity to reset and improve the relationship between the two countries.”

Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce President Kushagr Sharma said in an interview to IANS, “PM Modi ji coming here shows that both sides want to work together. This will greatly benefit the economic situation of both countries. Trade is already happening and it will grow further.”

PM Modi’’ visit has created excitement among Indo-Canadians.

Canada has one of the largest diasporas with 1.8 million Indo-Canadians and one million Indian citizens.

–IANS