Look forward to meeting Trudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday: Amarinder

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 19

Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is all set to take Punjab’s close business as well as people-to-people relations with Canada to the next level, with one-to-one meeting with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday.

An intimation in this regard was received by the Chief Minister’s Office from the Ministry of External Affairs this evening.

The Chief Minister, who has already issued instructions to the state administration to roll out the red carpet for the visiting dignitary on February 21, said on Monday that he looked forward to the meeting the Canadian PM.

Comment — Canada, Punjab: Never say no to a handshake

Look forward to meeting Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday. I’m hopeful that this meeting will help strengthen the close Indo-Canadian business ties as well as the deep-rooted people-to-people relations between our two countries.

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) February 19, 2018

“Look forward to meeting Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday. I’m hopeful that this meeting will help strengthen the close Indo-Canadian business ties as well as the deep-rooted people-to-people relations between our two countries,” the Chief Minister tweeted.

Captain Amarinder expressed the hope that his meeting with Trudeau would help strengthen the bilateral relations between Canada and India, particularly in the context of Punjab, which has a large diaspora in Canada. While trade and business will be the key focus area of the meeting, the two leaders are also expected to discuss steps to intensify the close relations between the people of the two countries, according to a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

Punjab has deep roots with Canada, where a large Punjabi community is settled, and has always striven to strengthen the connect, said Captain Amarinder, appreciating Trudeau’s efforts in this direction.

The Chief Minister referred to the Prime Minister’s apology two years ago in the Canadian parliament, where Trudeau had apologised for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident, in which hundreds of Sikh, Muslim and Hindu passengers in a ship were denied entry to Canada and forced to return to India, where they met a violent fate.

Captain Amarinder said it was a gesture that underlined the depth of the relations between the two countries, which Wednesday’s meeting would help in consolidating further.

The Chief Minister has, meanwhile, ordered the administration to ensure that the Canadian Prime Minister and his family are extended all the courtesies befitting their status. He has asked the officials to ensure the best of facilities to the Canadian Prime Minister, his family and his entourage to make their visit to the Holy City a pleasant and memorable one.