G20 virtual meet: PM Modi-Trudeau's first meeting after Nijjar death row

India has rejected Trudeau’s allegations as "absurd" and "motivated".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a virtual G20 leaders’ summit on November 22 evening which will also be attended by his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. According to reports, the leaders will discuss implementation of the Delhi Declaration and ways of addressing new global challenges.

Trudeau's attendance at the virtual meeting comes amid a diplomatic standoff between India and Canada. Speaker of the Canadian Senate, Raymonde Gagne, skipped the Presiding Officers' Summit of Parliaments of G20 nations that began in Delhi on October 12.

Trudeau had earlier accused India of having a “possible link” in the murder of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020 and rejected Trudeau's allegations as "absurd" and "motivated". Trudeau had recently reiterated his allegation. He had accused New Delhi of violating the Vienna Convention by "kicking out" 40 diplomats at a time when his country had reached out to get to the bottom of the murder. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will also attend the summit.

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant told PTI that the virtual meeting is expected to witness similar attendance of global leaders as seen in the in person meeting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 9-10.

This virtual gathering comes after a BRICS meeting that focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza underscoring the urgency of international dialogue on current global issues

"The virtual summit of the G20 being held will also be a major gathering of world leaders since the conclusion of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly and the SDG Summit," Kant had said. Noting that several challenges have emerged since the September G20 summit, he had said development would be the primary focus of the virtual meeting and leaders might engage in discussions on a myriad of other issues.

India's G20 Presidency, which ends at the end of this month, has been dominated by talks on the Russia-Ukraine war. This caused ministerial-level meetings to end without a communique, or official statements, in the lead up to the New Delhi Leaders' Summit as officials could not come to an agreement on the language to describe the nature of the conflict.