Kananaskis [Canada], June 18 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. Notably, this was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after Canada's recent general elections. During the meeting, the leaders reaffirmed the importance of India-Canada ties and agreed to take constructive steps to restore stability in the relationship, with the early return of High Commissioners to each other's capitals, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in a statement on Wednesday.

As per the MEA, the meeting between PM Modi and PM Carney provided an opportunity for both sides to hold frank and forward-looking discussions on the state of India-Canada relations and the way ahead.

The leaders reaffirmed the importance of India-Canada ties, based on shared democratic values, respect for the rule of law and commitment to upholding the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. They underlined the need to pursue a constructive and balanced partnership grounded in mutual respect for concerns and sensitivities, strong people-to-people ties, and growing economic complementarities.

In a significant development, it was announced by the MEA in its statement that India and Canada 'agreed to take calibrated and constructive steps to restore stability in the relationship, beginning with the early return of High Commissioners to each other's capitals.'

Notably, the leaders underscored the importance of restarting senior ministerial as well as working-level engagements across various domains to rebuild trust and bring momentum to the relationship.

As per the MEA, PM Modi and PM Carney discussed opportunities for future collaboration in areas such as clean energy, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, LNG, food security, critical minerals, higher education, mobility, and supply chain resilience. They reaffirmed their shared interest in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific. The leaders also discussed the importance of restarting the stalled negotiations on the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), to pave the way for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). They agreed to task their respective officials to engage further in this regard.

The leaders acknowledged the important progress made at the G7 Summit and the shared willingness to work constructively together on global priorities such as climate action, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.

MEA noted in its statement that the leaders underlined the deep people-to-people connections between the two countries and agreed to leverage this living bridge to the benefit of both countries. They agreed to stay in touch and looked forward to meeting each other again at the earliest opportunity.

The positive developments follows after tensions had escalated further when former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that his government had 'credible allegations' of India's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in 2023.

India has strongly denied the allegations, terming them 'absurd' and 'motivated,' and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements.

In the aftermath, India recalled six diplomats from Canada after they were declared 'persons of interest' by Canadian authorities investigating Nijjar's killing. Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. (ANI)