NEW YORK, Sep 28: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the India-Australia relationship as “underutilised”, saying he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are keen to expand cooperation between the two countries.
Albanese made the remarks during a conversation hosted by the Asia Society in New York last week on the sidelines of the high-level United Nations General Assembly session.
“We have a lot in common as well. We’re both Commonwealth nations, and we have language and universities being established there. There’s a lot more we can do though. It has been underutilised, the relationship and partnership, but both PM Modi and I are very keen on rectifying that,” he said.
The Australian leader is scheduled to visit India in December while travelling to the United States for the G20 Summit, which will be hosted by US President Donald Trump in Florida on December 14-15.
During his India trip, Albanese is expected to participate in the ‘G’day Namaste’ programme, a cultural, business and sporting showcase involving the Business Council of Australia and other stakeholders.
He said a large business delegation would accompany him to Mumbai as part of efforts to strengthen commercial engagement between the two countries. The visit will conclude with a cricket match in Chennai featuring teams from Victoria and Western Australia.
The discussion was moderated by former Australian prime minister and Asia Society Global President and CEO Kevin Rudd, who noted that bilateral relations between India and Australia appeared to be gaining momentum.
Albanese said India’s growing economic importance presented further opportunities for cooperation, noting that the country is projected to become the world’s third-largest economy and already has the world’s largest population.
He also credited Modi with expanding access to energy in India, saying that more people had been connected to energy during Modi’s leadership than in any decade in any country or region in human history.
“There is a lot more that can be done in our economic partnership,” Albanese said, while describing his relationship with Modi as strong.
The Australian prime minister also recalled that he and Modi had each visited the other’s country twice since becoming prime ministers. He spoke about the large public gatherings that accompanied Modi’s visits to Australia.
Recalling an event in Melbourne, Albanese said the enthusiasm surrounding Modi’s appearance was remarkable. He noted that the Indian prime minister had encouraged the audience to cheer for him as well.
“Well, the good thing for me was that Prime Minister Modi asked them to cheer for me, and that was enough for a chant,” Albanese said.
He added that Australians were generally “a pretty tough bunch” and joked that having 40,000 Australians chant his name was possible because of his friendship with Modi.
Albanese said the atmosphere at the Melbourne event had been extraordinary, highlighting the strong public interest surrounding the India-Australia relationship.