Amid diplomatic tensions, Canada opts out of P20 Summit in New Delhi, remains silent on decision

Canadian speaker Raymonde Gagne won’t be attending P20, the two-day parliamentary speakers’ summit that is being hosted by India this week. The P20 Summit will begin on Friday (13 October) in New Delhi. The information of Gagne not attending the parliamentary speakers’ summit in India’s capital was given by a spokesperson of her office. Canada gives no reason for opting out from P20 A Bloomberg report said, two Indian officials, in condition of anonymity, confirmed Gagne won’t be attending the P20 Summit, adding that no reason was given for her non-attendance. Last week, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament), Om Birla had announced that Gagne had agreed to participate in P20 Summit. It, however, remains unclear whether Canada will have any representation at the meeting. Also, the spokesperson for the Speaker’s office declined to comment. Relations between New Delhi and Ottawa have deteriorated following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s public accusations of the Indian government’s involvement in the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. India had outrightly denied any role in the incident. Amid this, Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Joly, Wednesday said discussion was underway between both the countries over India’s request that Canada reduce its diplomatic presence in the country. Talking to reporters, Joly said: “Diplomacy is always better when conversations remain private, and that’s the approach I will continue to take when it comes to India." With inputs from agencies