Anthony Albanese has welcomed his “dear friend” Narendra Modi to Australia in entrance of a crowd of hundreds of individuals at an occasion in Sydney.
The Prime Minister gave his Indian counterpart a bear hug when he arrived at Qudos Bank Arena on Tuesday night time earlier than introducing him as somebody who “gets a rock star reception wherever he goes”.
Mr Albanese described the cheering viewers — made up primarily of members of the Australian-Indian group — as associates who he stated he was proud had made Australia their residence.
“You make our nation and our shared communities better. You make Australia stronger,” he stated.
In his transient opening remarks, Mr Albanese performed up India and Australia’s connections and stated he needed to see the connection between the 2 international locations proceed to develop together with within the business and training sectors.
“We want to see more connections. More Australian and Indian students living and studying in each other’s countries, and bringing those experiences home,” he stated.
“More business leaders and artists and families sharing your experiences and your knowledge and your ideas.”
Mr Albanese stated he was reminded of his earlier travels to India as a 28-year-old when he returned to the nation earlier this 12 months as prime minister.
“It was a trip full of unforgettable moments: celebrating Holi in Gujarat, laying a wreath for the great Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi, and doing a lap of the incredible stadium at Ahmedabad on Day 1 of the fourth test,” he stated.
“Everywhere I went, I felt that deep sense of connection between the people of Australia and the people of India.
“It’s a warmth I felt when I backpacked around India for 5 weeks in 1991 – if you want to understand India, travel by train and video bus.”
Mr Albanese and Mr Modi on Tuesday night time introduced the inaugural advisory board for the Centre for Australia-India Relations, which the federal authorities introduced its plans to ascertain earlier this 12 months.
Headquartered in Parramatta the centre’s mission is to work throughout authorities, business, academia and the group to additional foster ties between the 2 international locations and encourage companies to “seize the opportunities” of their financial partnership.
Universities Australia chief government officer Catriona Jackson, former Australian cricket captain Adam Gilchrist, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Jan Adams and Commonwealth Bank government Gunjan Pagare are among the many appointments to the board.
Mr Albanese stated the centre’s location in western Sydney was a “testament to the vitality of the Indian-Australian experience”, giving a shout out to the brand new Parramatta Lord Mayor — Sameer Pandey.
Mr Pandey was elected to the place only a day earlier, changing into the primary Lord Mayor in Australia to be born in India.
Mr Modi’s journey to Australia comes after he met with Mr Albanese, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima on the weekend.
The leaders have been meant to carry a proper assembly of their quadrilateral safety dialogue at Sydney’s Opera House this weekend, however these plans have been scuppered when Mr Biden cancelled his journey to give attention to congress negotiations in Washington.
Mr Modi was the one one of many three world leaders to make his journey to Sydney this week as deliberate.
Earlier on Tuesday, he met with outstanding Australian business leaders together with Gina Rinehart, AustralianTremendous chief government Paul Schroder and Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest in Sydney to debate financial partnerships with Indian firms.
Mr Albanese on Tuesday night time thanked Mr Modi for “bringing the spirit of the world’s biggest democracy to Australia”, saying he had helped make our democracy stronger and extra inclusive.
The two leaders even have plans to unveil a plaque basis stone of the “Little India” gateway in Harris Park in Sydney’s west collectively.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
