Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Cyprus, Canada and Croatia from June 15-19.

He will visit Cyprus on June 15-16, on his way to Canada to participate in the G7 Summit in Kananaskis on June 16-17, and conclude the five-day visit with an official visit to Croatia on June 18. This will be PM Modi’s first foreign tour after Operation Sindoor.

The G7 Leaders’ Summit – held annually for the leaders of the G7 member states — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada and the European Union — will be held in Alberta’s Kananaskis from June 15 to 17. India has been invited to every G7 Summit since 2019.

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Mark Carney, an economist and political newcomer, took charge as Canada’s prime minister in March following the exit of Justin Trudeau from the top office.

Modi received a call from Carney earlier this month, during which the latter invited the prime minister to attend the G7 meeting. The call was also an occasion for the two prime ministers to reflect and talk about India-Canada relations and how they can be taken forward, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on June 12.

Describing India and Canada as “vibrant democracies”, the external affairs ministry had also said that New Delhi believes the forthcoming meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the G7 Summit will offer an important opportunity to exchange views and “explore pathways” to reset bilateral ties.

The development comes after more than a year of strained diplomatic ties between the two countries, triggered by former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s allegations about the “potential” link between Indian agents and the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a gurdwara in Canada in 2023. India rejected the charges as “absurd” and “motivated”, and consequently, both nations expelled high commissioners and other senior diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.

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India has also repeatedly expressed concern about Khalistani extremism and anti-India activities in Canada and has asked authorities to take action against such activities.

Asked about Carney’s statement about PM Modi agreeing to engage in law enforcement dialogue, Jaiswal said there were “existing mechanisms between Indian and Canadian law enforcement agencies that have discussed issues of mutual security concern over a period of time. This engagement is likely to continue.”

Amit Shah in Lucknow

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will distribute appointment letters to 60,244 newly recruited constables of the Uttar Pradesh Police at a ceremony in Lucknow, an official statement said.

The event marks the largest-ever direct recruitment drive for civil police constables in the history of the state police, the statement said.

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Under the Civil Police Direct Recruitment-2023, 48,196 male and 12,048 female candidates have been selected. The process was conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board.

The statement said the recruitment drive received 48.17 lakh applications, including 15.49 lakh from women. Despite the scale, the examination and selection process was completed smoothly through the use of advanced technology and strict supervision.

— With PTI inputs