Justin Trudeau to visit India February 17-23

New Delhi: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make an official visit to India from February 17 to 23, both the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the Canadian high commission announced in separate statements. During the week-long forthcoming visit, the Canadian PM will also visit Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Mumbai besides New Delhi where he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “While in India, Prime Minister Trudeau will engage with youth, and visit several landmarks, including the Taj Mahal, Sri Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple), the Jama Masjid, and Swaminarayan Akshar-dham,” the Canadian high commission said.

“Canada and India share a special bond, and are linked by tremendous people-to-people connections. The more than one million Canadians of Indian origin make the relationship between our two countries a truly special one. I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Modi, and further strengthening the Canada-India friendship,” Mr Trudeau was quoted by the Canadian high commission as stating.

With the two sides set to hold talks on a wide gamut of issues including security and counter-terrorism, India is likely to strongly take up with Canada the activities of radical pro-Khalistan elements operating in Canada and is expected to express concern over such activities. There have been media reports in recent times that Indian officials have been prevented from entering Gurdwaras in Canada by these radical elements there.

Just a few days ago, the MEA had said, “We have seen several reports regarding such notifications. The vast majority of the Sikh community in Canada and other parts of the world share a very warm emotional bond with India and have worked for the betterment of bilateral relations between their country of residence and India.”