New Delhi: After meeting with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese , Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to the attacks on temples in Australia and the security of Indians, said that I have told PM Albanese about this. He has assured the safety of the Indian community . Earlier, PM Modi held delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Delhi.
After the meeting, PM Narendra Modi said in a joint press conference with the Australian PM, “It is a matter of regret that for the last few weeks, continuous reports of attacks on temples are coming from Australia. I have seen reports of attacks on temples in Australia. It is natural that such news worries everyone in India. I have conveyed this to PM Anthony Albanese and he has assured me that the safety and well-being of the Indian community in Australia is a priority for him."
PM Modi further said, “Security cooperation is an important pillar in the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Australia. We discussed maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region today. He said that our teams are working on a comprehensive economic agreement between our two countries.
Economic agreement will be completed soon: PM Albanese
Regarding the mutual coordination between security agencies, PM Modi said that there has been discussion on further strengthening the exchange of regular and useful information among our security agencies. Along with this, we also discussed mutual cooperation to develop a reliable and strong global supply chain. We are also working together in clean hydrogen and solar.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, “Today PM Modi and I have agreed to complete the ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible. I am hopeful that we will be able to finalize it this year." He said that we also discussed the Malabar exercise which Australia is hosting this year.
Talks on bilateral relations
Earlier on Friday, PM Modi held in-depth talks with his Australian PM Anthony Albanese with a focus on promoting overall bilateral relations in the areas of trade and investment, defense and important minerals. Australian Prime Minister Anthony reached the capital Delhi last evening after concluding his programs in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
After being formally welcomed at Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning, PM Albanese said, “Australia and India are good friends. We are partners and we are making this partnership stronger every day." He also said that Canberra wants to cooperate with India to build stronger ties in the areas of culture, economic ties as well as security.
He said, “We may be competing to be the best team in the world on the cricket field, but together we are also building a better world.” This is Anthony's first visit to India after becoming PM in May last year. Earlier in 2017, an Australian Prime Minister had visited India.
India's 17th largest partner Australia
PM Anthony Albanese's visit follows an exchange of high-level talks and ministerial visits between the two sides in 2022 and 2023. Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar had visited Australia on February 18 last month while his counterpart Penny Wong was on a visit to New Delhi from February 28 to March 3.
Bilateral economic relations between the two countries are getting stronger. The Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) has come into force since December last year. This is the first free trade agreement signed by India with any developed country in the last decade.
Official figures show that Australia is India's 17th largest trading partner while India is Australia's ninth largest trading partner. With ECTA, bilateral trade is expected to reach around US$ 50 billion in the next five years.
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