Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is visiting India, on Friday (March 10).
Anthony Albanese, who took charge as the Prime Minister of Australia in May last year, has made an official visit to India for the first time. He came to Ahmedabad, Gujarat last Wednesday and visited the Sabmati Ashram there. He arrived in Mumbai on Thursday and reached Delhi on Thursday evening.
The talks between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Albanese will be held in Delhi on Friday. During the talks, the two leaders will discuss in detail the strengthening of good relations between the two countries in the fields of trade, investment, defense and important minerals.
According to reports, the leaders are likely to discuss China’s increasing dominance in the Indo-Pacific region and peace and stability in the region.
Australia is India’s 17th largest trading partner. The trade between the two countries was around Rs 2.25 lakh crore in 2021. The Economic Cooperation-Trade Agreement between the two countries came into effect last December. The agreement is expected to further increase the bilateral relations between the two countries.
INS Vikrant Warship: Earlier, Prime Minister Albanese visited the INS Vikrant Warship docked at the Mumbai Naval Base in person on Thursday.
Chief of Naval Staff R. Harikumar welcomed him and explained about the features of the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier built entirely in India, according to the statement issued by the Navy.
On board the ship, Prime Minister Albanese was given a parade of honor on behalf of the naval personnel.
Prime Minister Albanese has the distinction of being the first foreign leader to visit the INS Vikrant warship. Regarding this visit, Prime Minister Albanese said, ‘Accepting Prime Minister Modi’s invitation, I visited the INS Vikrant warship built by India. The visit highlights India as Australia’s closest ally in the Indo-Pacific region.
The governments of both the countries are continuously taking measures to strengthen the good relations between the two countries in the field of security. Australia will hold the ‘Malabar’ joint exercise for the first time at the end of this year, in which the navies of India, Australia, America and Japan will participate.
India will participate for the first time in the Talisman Sabre, an international joint exercise conducted by Australia. India and Australia are giving importance to making the Indo-Pacific region transparent and free,’ he said.
In 2007, the central government implemented a plan to build aircraft carriers locally. Under the scheme, the first aircraft carrier, ‘Vikrant’, was built at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore. Cochin Shipbuilding Company started construction of the ship in 2009. Prime Minister Modi dedicated the warship to the country in September last year.