india: Australian Prime Minister announces India visit next March

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that he will visit India next March as the two countries plan to seal a final trade deal following an interim pact signed this April and expand strategic partnership across sectors.

Albanese announced the visit on Wednesday after he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on Wednesday and discussed the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. “It will be an important visit and upgrade in the relationship,” Albanese told reporters in Bali.

Modi and Albanese at their Bali meeting reviewed the progress made in deepening cooperation across a diverse range of sectors, including defence, trade, education, clean energy and people-to-people ties. Institutional partnership in the field of education, especially in higher education, vocational education, training and capacity building was discussed in detail.

Albanese reportedly greeted Modi as “prime minister and president” referring to the fact that Indonesia had passed on the G20 presidency baton to India.
Modi is expected to visit Australia next year for the Quad Summit. Albanese will be accompanied by a business delegation here next March. He is also expected to visit India for the G20 Summit in September.

Meanwhile, India is closely following contours of China-Australia ties in the backdrop of Albanese meeting with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Bali. Albanese characterised the conversation as a “very positive and constructive discussion”, with the meeting the first between an Australian leader and Xi since 2019.