PM Modi departs for Australia after 3-day Indonesia visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Australia on Wednesday. This is PM Modi's third visit to Australia, and he will be visiting Melbourne after a gap of 12 years. His last visit to Melbourne was in November 2014, and his last visit to Australia was in May 2023.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi and President Prabowo inaugurated the restoration project of the nearly 1,000-year-old Prambanan Temple, marking a significant milestone in India-Indonesia cultural cooperation. The temple, one of Southeast Asia's most prominent Hindu heritage sites, is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Indian High Commissioner to Australia Nagesh Singh says the Australia visit by the Prime Minister will see several outcomes emerge during his meetings with Australian PM Albanese.

"The third annual leader's summit, for which the Prime Minister's coming to Melbourne, has a very comprehensive agenda. If you remember in 2022, we signed the comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries, and this is an opportunity for the two Prime Ministers to take stock of where we are today in terms of our strategic partnership and also to give us directions on the path we want to take ahead. And you know, India-Australia relations today are one of the fastest-growing and most consequential of our partnerships with any other country. There will be several outcomes, and you will see them when they are announced after the leaders meet... It'll cover the entire gamut of our relationship from defence and security to trade and investment, to people-to-people connect on clean technologies, new and other critical technologies which are coming out, people-to-people connect, education," he said.

The High Commissioner says that India and Australia have converging interests. The visit will be a major boost to India's MAHASAGAR and Indo-Pacific vision: It will further cement ties between two QUAD partners who are playing greater roles in the Indo-Pacific, bringing new opportunities and prosperity for people and countries, especially the Small Island Developing States.

He added, "We signed the ECTA, the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, in 2022. Since then, our bilateral trade has gone up by 25%. It's crossed almost 50 billion; it's about 54 billion Australian dollars. But it's way below the potential given the size and dynamism of both our economies. We are negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement which is a very complicated kind of agreement which is being negotiated. We haven't finished it yet, but there will be some progress, and hopefully, sooner rather than later, we'll arrive at a conclusion. But this visit will be more about reviewing where we are in terms of our trade and investment relationship, and the CECA as it's called, will open up many vistas for both countries in terms of a very deep partnership in the economic and commercial front," he added.

During his visit, the PM will be addressing the CEOs' forum. The PM's visit will also give a boost to business ties and partnerships in areas such as critical minerals and supply chain.

In an important event signifying the diaspora connection, the PM will be addressing a large community event. The Indian diaspora in Australia has become an important pillar of our bilateral relationship. People of Indian origin now make up almost one million of all Australians.

Prime Minister Modi is also expected to visit the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a key site for India-Australia battles on the Cricket field. India's High Commission says there are several aspects of Sports on which both nations are looking to partner.

The PM is expected to arrive in Melbourne later in the day, and in a rare departure from established protocols, Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn AC will travel to Melbourne to meet PM Modi, signifying the maturity of the bilateral relations of the two nations. (ANI)