The speaker of Canada’s senate won’t be attending a Group of 20 event hosted by India this week as diplomatic relations between the two countries remain tense.
(Bloomberg) — Sign up for the India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi – an insider’s guide to the emerging economic powerhouse, and the billionaires and businesses behind its rise, delivered weekly.
The speaker of Canada’s senate won’t be attending a Group of 20 event hosted by India this week as diplomatic relations between the two countries remain tense.
Raymonde Gagne won’t attend the two-day parliamentary speakers’ summit starting Friday in New Delhi, a spokesperson for her office said Wednesday, declining to provide further information.
Two Indian officials confirmed Gagne won’t be at the summit, adding that no reason was given for her non-attendance. They asked not to be identified to discuss sensitive information.
Om Birla, speaker of the lower house of India’s parliament, had told the media last week that Gagne had agreed to participate. It’s not clear if Canada will have any representation at the meeting. A spokesperson for the office of India’s parliamentary speaker declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused the Indian government of playing a role in the assassination of a prominent Sikh leader in Canada. New Delhi has staunchly denied any involvement.
As tensions esclate, India has again asked Thursday Canada to take “more seriously their international obligation to provide security” to their diplomats and premises in the country, Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters in New Delhi.
Earlier, India’s High Commissioner to Australia Manpreet Vohra said in an interview with Bloomberg that the allegations have barely affected the South Asian nation’s diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific, adding that Canada should provide evidence.
Canada’s foreign minister said Wednesday the two countries are still in discussion over India’s request that Canada reduce its diplomatic presence.
“Diplomacy is always better when conversations remain private, and that’s the approach I will continue to take when it comes to India,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters on Wednesday.
–With assistance from Eltaf Najafizada, Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Abhay Singh.
(Update with India’s foreign ministry comment)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.