PM Modi invited to attend G7 Summit in Canada, says ‘looking forward to meeting Mark Carney'

Signalling a revival of the India-Canada ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Canada at the invite of his counterpart Mark Carney.

Modi will be a part of the G7 summit being hosted by Canada from June 15 to 17.  

Modi posted on X about the visit, ending days of speculation that the PM may miss the G7 summit, a first since 2019. India is not a member of the G7 but is invited as one of the larger economies.

Modi mentioned about the phone call with Carney saying, “Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month.”

Making a shift from the era of Justin Trudeau when India and Canada levelled serious allegations against each other, Modi said in his post, “As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit (G7).”

Carney took over from Trudeau in March this year.

In international summits, the host country has the discretion, particularly regarding guest invitations, agenda setting, and the overall tone of the summit. The discretion allows the host to tailor the event to its priorities and to promote its own foreign policy objectives.

The G7 is a grouping of the most industrialised economies in the world—the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada. Summits are also attended by the European Union (EU), the IMF, the World Bank and the UN.

India-Canada relations nosedived following the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Nijjar in Canada in June 2023. Trudeau accused India of being involved. India called Trudeau's charges baseless.