PM Modi, Justin Trudeau discussion at Laos wasn't ‘substantive’: Report

Prime minister Modi and Canadian prime minister Trudeau both attended the ASEAN Summit in Laos on Friday

In a short unofficial meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos, discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau amounted to nothing “substantive”, sources told news agency ANI.

Canada's PM Justin Trudeau and PM Narendra Modi briefly talked in Laos, however, anti-India activities in Canada continue to be an issue between the two countries

Relations between the two countries have been thorny since the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 outside a Gurudwara in Surrey, Canada.

Trudeau had claimed access to “credible proof” of India's involvement in the death of Nijjar, who had been classified as a Khalistani terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency since 2020. India denied all allegations and accused Canada of supporting extremist anti-India elements.

Sources told ANI, that Indian authorities expected a firm stance against anti-India activities in Canada and action against those advocating extremist ideas. Without a guarantee of steps taken to root out anti-India elements, the relationship might be difficult to mend.

“There was no substantive discussion between PM and Prime Minister Trudeau in Vientiane. India continues to expect that anti-India Khalistani activities will not be allowed to take place on Canadian soil and that firm action, which is lacking thus far, will be taken against those advocating violence, extremism and terrorism against India from Canadian territory,” a government source told ANI.

Speaking of his conversation with PM Modi in Laos, Trudeau said, "I emphasized that there is work that we need to do…the safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government, and that's what I'll stay focused on," reported CBC news.

Only a day before Trudeau's statement, Canada's foreign minister Melanie Joly, on Thursday, called relations with India as “tense” and “very difficult” adding that there was still a threat of more murders like Nijjar's on Canadian soil.

This is the second time this year that PM Modi and Trudeau were present at the same summit, albeit without any resolution of the diplomatic issues between the countries. They had attended the G7 meeting in Apulia, Italy in June, earlier this year.