New Delhi: Canadian Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne on Thursday said he will skip the G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit (P20) to be hosted by New Delhi on Friday though Ottawa earlier confirmed that it would attend the Summit. This comes amid the ongoing diplomatic spat between the two nations after Canadian PM Trudeau alleged that the Indian government agents linked to the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. India dismissed the allegation as “absurd”. Najjar designated a terrorist by India, was gunned down by unidentified men in the parking lot of a Gurdwara in Surrey town.
Last week, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla during a press briefing told reporters that Canada has confirmed its participation in the P20 Summit to be held from October 12-14. Gagné was appointed to the Senate by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016. Meanwhile, reports suggest that External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar held a secret meeting with Canadian FM Melanie Joly in Washington days ago amid the diplomatic stand-off between the two nations.
When asked about the development, the Ministry of External Affairs refused to comment. Given the ongoing diplomatic tussle, India has earlier asked 41 Canadian diplomats to leave the country by October 10. The relations between India and Canada are already not great over the activities carried out by the Khalistani extremists based on Canadian soil and the allegations by the Canadian PM have pushed the ties to a new low.
Also read: Sunak, Trudeau underscore the need for de-escalation of India-Canada row
India has issued an advisory asking its nationals in Canada to exercise utmost caution because of growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate crimes. It has also described Canada as a “haven” for extremists and terrorists. Germany and Argentina will not be present at the P20 for internal reasons and both countries have expressed their regrets.
More than 350 delegates are expected to attend the three-day Summit that will see the participation of 50 members of Parliament, 14 general secretaries, 26 vice presidents, the International Parliamentary Union president and the president of the Pan-African Parliament.
The theme of the 9th P20 is proposed to be Parliaments for 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'. The Summit will be chaired by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Four sessions have been planned for the 9th P20 Summit, including transformation in people's lives through public digital platforms women-led development, accelerating SDGs and sustainable energy transition.
The P20 delegates will also be taken on a tour of the new Parliament House, followed by a cultural evening and dinner hosted by the Speaker. The Parliamentary track in the G20 started in 2010 in Ottawa, Canada, as a consultative meeting of the Speakers of select G20 countries. It may be noted that P20 has not taken place under every G20 Presidency. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has attended three previous meetings- the 6th in Tokyo in November 2019, the 7th in Rome in October 2021 and the 8th in Jakarta on 6-7 October 2022.
