Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left India on Tuesday for Canada, after being forced, due to a plane crash, to extend by two days his stay in New Delhi where he participated in the G20 summit last weekend.
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According to air traffic monitoring site Flightradar24, Royal Canadian Air Force flight CFC01 took off from Delhi airport on Tuesday shortly after 1 pm local time (0730 GMT).
Trudeau’s press secretary, Mohammad Hussain, confirmed to AFP that Canada’s G20 delegation was on board the plane.
Justin Trudeau arrived in India on Friday to attend the G20 leaders’ meeting and is due to return to Canada on Sunday, after a ceremony to honor the anniversary of the father of India’s independence, Mahatma Gandhi.
But on Sunday, the Canadian Armed Forces grounded the prime minister’s plane after identifying technical problems that could not be resolved overnight.
According to local press reports, Trudeau, who has no diplomatic relations with the Indian government, and his 16-year-old son Xavier, remained in their hotel, extending their stay by two days.
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This is not the first time a fault has been detected on an Airbus CC-150 aircraft, according to Canadian channel CTV.
Trudeau’s presence at the G20 was less publicized than that of certain leaders participating in the summit which took place in the context of tensions between Canada and India.
New Delhi accused Ottawa of turning a blind eye to the activities of radical Sikh nationalist groups advocating the creation of an independent Sikh state in northern India.
Canada is the country with the largest number of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab, India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his “deep concern about the continued activities of anti-India extremist elements in Canada” during his meeting with Trudeau, according to a statement from the Indian government.
Canada, for its part, recently postponed negotiations on a free trade agreement with India.
Trudeau later told the press that he would always defend “freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and the freedom to demonstrate peacefully,” while acting against hate.