Golden Temple on Trudeau itinerary

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 22

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be on his first official visit to India from February 17-23, a period during which he would travel to Amritsar, Agra, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Among other historical monuments, he would visit the Golden Temple, Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid and the Akshardham in Delhi.

Trudeau’s visit follows the one by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Canada in April 2015. The last visit by a Canadian Prime Minister to India was in November 2012.

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement: “The visit is aimed at further strengthening ties in key areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, energy, science and innovation, higher education, infrastructure development, skill development and space.” Security and counter-terrorism will also be key to the conversations.

Trudeau will also engage with the youth and participate in several business round-tables and promote women empowerment.

The two nations share a strong diaspora connect with around 3.6 per cent of the Canadian population being of Indian origin. Also, India is Canada’s second largest source of immigrants.

There are four Sikh ministers in Trudeau’s cabinet and for the first time in the country’s history, a minority Sikh leader, Jagmit Singh, is the leader of the New Democratic Party and is being looked upon as a serious challenger to Trudeau in the next elections. “The more than one million Canadians of Indian origin make the relationship between our two countries a truly special one. I look forward to a meeting with Prime Minister Modi, and further strengthening the Canada-India friendship,” said Trudeau in an official release.

The two sides will also take this opportunity to address irritants in the relationship, especially sentiments surrounding Khalistani movement and reports of support mobilisation by radical Sikhs in Canada. Also, a Sikh Indian-origin legislator in Ontario, Harinder Malhi, who moved a motion to recognise 1984 anti-Sikh riots as “genocide”, was given a cabinet berth last week in the province. India rejects the motion.