Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said today that he was looking forward to meaningful talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his forthcoming visit to India.
Singh, who had earlier accused some Canadian ministers of being sympathetic to Khalistani groups, told reporters here that the unequivocal statements of Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, distancing themselves from the Khalistani movement, had paved the way for meaningful discussions.
He said he would be happy to welcome Trudeau during his visit to India later this month and hold talks to strengthen ties between Punjab and Canada.
Sajjan's statement that he and Sohi "neither sympathise with nor espouse the Sikh nationalist movement, which is bent on creating a separate country called Khalistan in India's Punjab region" indicated that the Canadian prime minister clearly sent out a strong signal within his party and government that he would not allow his country's soil to be used for any secessionist activities, the chief minister earlier said.
Singh was here to pay his tribute to Sikh warrior Sham Singh Attariwala on his 172nd Martyrdom Day.
Talking to reporters, he said he was committed to completing the process of farm loan waiver for 10.25 lakh farmers, as announced by his government, by November this year.
