'Serious About Building Closer Ties With India': Canadian PM Trudeau Amid Tensions Over Nijjar Killing

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has said that he's very serious about building closer ties with India citing New Delhi's growing economic strength and importance in geopolitics.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

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Amid the ongoing rift between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has said that the was committed to building "strong ties" with India as it is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. However, he added that Ottawa wants New Delhi to work closely to ensure all facts about the killing of Nijjar are there with Canada, reported The National Post.

Speaking at a press conference in Montreal, Trudeau said that despite "credible allegations" against India, Canada is committed to building closer ties with it, The National Post stated. Trudeau added that he thinks it is "extremely important" that Canada and its allies continue to engage "constructively and seriously" with India given its growing importance on the world stage.

"India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. And as we presented with our Indo-Pacific strategy, just last year, we’re very serious about building closer ties with India," he told reporters as quoted by The National Post.

This comes days after Trudeau alleged to have found credible inputs from Canadian and Five Eyes intelligence agencies about the "potential" involvement of agents of the Indian government and the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. His remarks were rejected by India as "absurd" and "motivated". Canada subsequently expelled a top Indian diplomat which was followed by the expulsion of a senior Canadian diplomat in India as well.

Nijjar was killed on June 18 in British Columbia by masked men outside a Gurdwara. He had been designated as a terrorist in 2020 by India.

Now, addressing reporters days after the chain of events, PM Trudeau emphasised that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts of this matter," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

He also claimed to have received assurances from the United States that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be raising the allegations made publicly about India’s role in Nijjar’s murder during a meeting with EAM S Jaishankar on Thursday. "The Americans have been with us in speaking to the Indian government about how important it is that they be involved in following up on the credible allegations that agents of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil," Trudeau was quoted as saying by the paper.