Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally flew out of India after a technical glitch with his plane that left him and his delegation stranded in New Delhi for two days was resolved, his office said.
(Bloomberg) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally flew out of India after a technical glitch with his plane that left him and his delegation stranded in New Delhi for two days was resolved, his office said.
Trudeau left the Indian capital on Tuesday afternoon local time after his A310 jet got clearance to fly from the authorities, said his spokesperson Alison Murphy in a statement.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that his jet, operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force, took off from New Delhi at 1:10 p.m.
Trudeau was in India for the Group of 20 summit, which ended on Sunday. Even before his plane broke down, his visit to the South Asian country wasn’t looking favorable.
During the leaders’ summit, he was criticized by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly allowing the “anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada,” a reference to Sikh groups that advocate for an independent homeland known as Khalistan.
Trudeau, meanwhile, said he discussed foreign interference and “respect for the rule of law” with Modi. The Canadian leader’s national security adviser has said India is a top source of foreign meddling in Canada’s affairs.
Read More: Trudeau Awaits Backup Jet After Breakdown Strands Him in India
This is not the first time Trudeau had a difficult trip in India. His first visit in 2018 became a diplomatic disaster after it emerged that a man who had been convicted of attempting to assassinate an Indian politician on Canadian soil somehow ended up on Canada’s guest list for an event.
The Airbus A310s carrying Trudeau and other top Canadian officials abroad date back to the 1980s and are badly showing their age. They are so old they require refueling stops for Trudeau’s trips to Asia, often with stopovers in Alaska and Japan before reaching their final destination.
–With assistance from Laura Dhillon Kane.
(Updates that Trudeau’s office has confirmed departure starting in paragraph 1.)
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