Elmau (Germany), Jun 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit here during which the two leaders took stock of the India-Canada friendship and agreed to expand trade and economic linkages, cooperation in security and counter-terrorism.

Modi and Trudeau are here at Schloss Elmau, the picturesque venue of the summit in southern Germany, to attend the summit of G7 countries. “Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @JustinTrudeau meet on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit in Germany. They took stock of the India-Canada friendship and discussed ways to further strengthen it across various sectors,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and agreed to expand trade and economic linkages, cooperation in security and counter-terrorism.

“Useful exchange between PM @narendramodi and Canadian PM @JustinTrudeau at Schloss Elmau. Leaders discussed bilateral ties and agreed to expand trade and economic linkages, cooperation in security and counter-terrorism, as well as P2P ties,” he tweeted. This is the first in-person bilateral meeting between the two leaders in over four years. Trudeau had visited India in February 2018 during which he held bilateral talks with Modi.

This is also the first meeting between the two leaders since Trudeau, who had backed the agitating farmers in India, had said that Canada will always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protests, and had expressed concern over the situation.

His remarks had angered India which summoned the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi and told him that such comments constituted an “unacceptable interference” in the country’s internal affairs and these actions, if continued, will have a “seriously damaging” impact on the bilateral ties. Canada has a significant number of Indians, mostly from Punjab.

In February 2021, Trudeau reached out to Prime Minister Modi and requested a shipment of Covid-19 vaccines from India, which sent a consignment of Covishield to Canada a month later.

Trudeau had lauded India and said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, it would be significant because of India’s tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and Prime Minister Modi’s leadership in sharing this capacity with the world. The bilateral trade stood at USD 12.4 billion in 2021.

Over 600 Canadian companies have presence in India while Indian companies in Canada are active in the fields of information technology, natural resources, steel and banking.

The negotiations for comprehensive economic partnership between the two sides resumed in April 2022. Canada hosts the largest Indian diaspora in the world.

The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political grouping consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

The German Presidency has invited Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa to the G7 Summit in Elmau, Bavaria. Modi is attending the G7 summit held in the Alpine castle of Schloss Elmau in southern Germany following an invitation by German Chancellor Scholz.