‘Our people-to-people contact remain a strong pillar…’: PM Modi talks about ties between India, Australia

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi landed in Sydney as part of his three-nation visit after concluding his visit to Papua New Guinea. Prime Minister gave an interview to the media outlet The Australian and talked about the ties between India and Australia. He talked about defense ties between the two nations and the ‘open and free’ Indo-Pacific.

Talking about the Australian PM Anthony Albanese, he said that he does not get satisfied easily and PM Albanese is also the same. He added that he is looking forward to taking their friendship to the ‘next level’ and expanding the cooperation between the two nations.

PM Modi called the Indian diaspora in Australia to be a ‘living bridge’ and said that the people-to-people contact is the strong pillar of the partnership between the two countries.

He said that Indo-Pacific faces several challenges like terrorism and climate change, and India believes in facing the challenges with ‘shared efforts’. PM Modi gave the credit for the security ties between India and Australia to the trust between the two countries, he also lauded Australia’s MALABAR naval exercises alongside India, the US, and Japan.

PM Modi and PM Albanese will address the public at the Sydney Olympic Park on May 23. Indian Australians are taking the ‘Modi Express’ buses to attend the event and as per The Australian, a crowd of about 20,000 people is expected at the Sydney Olympic Park.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received by Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell upon his arrival in Sydney and not Australian PM Anthony Albanese as was mentioned earlier.

— ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2023

The Indian Prime Minister also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Sydney and was received with the slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”. PM Modi was received by Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell in Sydney and he will be participating the bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart.