Trudeau: Despite the conflict, Canada is committed to its relationship with India

 Trudeau: Despite the conflict, Canada is committed to its relationship with India

Despite an ongoing diplomatic spat, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that his nation is committed to forging better connections with India.

His most recent comments are being made at a time when relations between the two nations are at an all-time low.

Tensions increased after Mr. Trudeau stated on September 19 that Canada was looking into allegations of India's involvement in the assassination of a leader of the Sikh separatist movement.

Delhi rejected the assertion as "absurd".

In June, a Canadian man named Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in front of a temple.

The Canadian prime minister declared on Thursday that it was crucial to "constructively and seriously" engage with India.

India is a significant geopolitical player and a rising economic power. And as we recently outlined our Indo-Pacific strategy, we're quite serious about forging stronger ties with India, he added, according to the National Post.

When Mr. Trudeau skipped the presidents' official luncheon on September 9 at the G20 conference in Delhi, tensions between the two nations erupted.

He had a brief meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but observers noted their "frosty" body language.

A few days later, Mr. Trudeau informed the Canadian legislature that they were investigating claims that Indian operatives were involved in the murder of Nijjar.

Since then, each nation's envoy has been expelled by the other country. India also stopped providing Canadians with visas last week, citing safety issues at its embassies there.

Mr. Trudeau mentioned the value of links with India on Thursday, but he also stated that the murder inquiry will go on.

As a nation that upholds the rule of law, we must also emphasize that India must collaborate with Canada to ensure that we have access to all of the relevant information, the official added.

How connections between India and Canada turned into a public dispute

India has stated that it had no part in the assassination, stressing that Nijjar had been declared a terrorist by Delhi in 2020 - an allegation his supporters adamantly refute. Trudeau confronting cold reality after lonely week on global arena.

The Indian government has frequently reacted angrily to proposals for Khalistan, or a separate Sikh homeland, made by Sikh separatists in Western nations.

Nijjar expressed his public support for the Khalistan movement.

on the 1980s, a bloody insurgency centered on Punjab state, which has a Sikh majority, marked its climax in India.

Force was used to put an end to it, and while it no longer resonates much in India, some members of the Sikh diaspora in nations like Canada, Australia, and the UK still find it appealing.

Western nations have also been put to the test by the conflict between India and Canada, who had been strong partners for years.

While urging Delhi to help with the inquiry, the US, UK, and Australia refrained from criticizing India, which they saw as a barrier to China's ascent in Asia.

Mr. Trudeau noted that he had received assurances from the US that the claims would be brought up when he visited with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar in Washington.

Despite meeting on Thursday, the foreign ministers failed to mention Canada in their press conference.