With Dear Friend Albanese, Will Look to Take India-Australia Ties to Next Level: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an exclusive interview with The Australian newspaper, said that he wants to take India’s relationship with Australia to the “next level”.

PM Modi reached Sydney on Monday for the third and final leg of his three-nation tour during which he will hold talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. Modi is visiting Australia from May 22-24 as a guest of the Australian Government.

“I am not a person who gets satisfied easily,” Modi told The Australian. “I have seen that Prime Minister Albanese is the same. I am confident that when we are together again in Sydney, we will get the opportunity to explore how we can take our relations to the next level. Identify new area of complementariness and can expand our co-operation,” he said.

Modi, who last visited Australia in 2014, called Albanese, who visited India in March, a “dear friend”.

He said the bilateral relationship was being nourished by the fast-growing Indian diaspora, which served as a “living bridge” between the two nations.

He said the since his last visit, the bilateral relationship has been “fundamentally transformed” by annual summits, an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, and the elevation of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic partnership.

“Our people-to-people contacts remain a strong pillar of our partnership. The Indian diaspora in Australia has increased over the past years. They are a living bridge. Even the game of cricket binds us on and off the field.”

“We have progressed significantly in the areas of defence, security, investment, education, water, climate change and renewable energy, sports, science, health, culture, among others,” he said.

PM Modi said “the Indo-Pacific faces a number of challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, terrorism, security of the sea lanes of communication, piracy, illegal fishing, among others”. “India believes that these challenges can be addressed only through shared efforts,” he said.

Modi said he hoped the visit would allow both countries to identify new areas of cooperation “be it new technology, clean energy, critical minerals, mining, cyber space, building resilient supply chains, movement of skilled professionals”.

Modi, along with Albanese, will address an expected crowd of 20,000 at Sydney Olympic Park on Tuesday.