New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday agreed on early conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Agreement (CEA) framed between the two countries. The CEA is crucial for trade between both Indo-pacific countries. Both sides held bilateral discussions on a wide range of issues ranging from trade and investment, defense and critical minerals. They signed MoUs in sports, audio-visual co-production, and exchanged terms of reference for Solar Taskforce.
In a joint press briefing after the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that security cooperation is an important pillar in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed between the two countries. "We discussed maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region," he added saying that teams from both countries are working on a comprehensive economic agreement between the two countries.
Speaking about the recent attacks on several temples in Australia, PM Modi said that he has conveyed his concerns to Prime Minister Albanese. The Australian PM has assured him that the safety and well-being of the Indian community in Australia is a priority for the Australian government, Modi said.
Also read: Australian PM Albanese accorded ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked PM Albanese for inviting him to Australia for the Quad Leaders' summit in May. Modi has also invited his Australian counterpart to the G20 summit in September. The Australian Prime Minister said that both of them agreed on an early conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. He added that both countries hope to finalize the agreement this year.
The Australian prime minister landed in the national capital in Delhi Thursday evening. He was in Ahmedabad and Mumbai earlier. After being accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Friday morning, Albanese said, "Australia and India are great friends. We are partners and we are building that partnership even stronger each and every day." Albanese added that Canberra intends to build a stronger relationship with India in areas of culture, economic relations as well as security. "We are competing on the cricket field to be the world's best but together we are building a better world," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Albanese mounted a fighter aircraft onboard India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, in Mumbai. He also watched day 1 of the final test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad.
This is Albanese's first visit to India after becoming prime minister in May last year. The last time an Australian prime minister came to India was in 2017. Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Australia on February 18; his counterpart Penny Wong visited New Delhi from February 28 to March 3. The Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between the two countries has entered into force from December 2022.
