Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that India will open a consulate in Brisbane to fulfill a long-pending demand of the Indian diaspora.
PM Modi made this announcement while addressing a packed stadium at Kudos Bank Arena in Sydney. It was attended by his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
India currently has three consulates in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Brisbane currently has an Honorary Consulate of India.
PM Modi said, “A new Indian consulate will soon be opened in Brisbane.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 census, 619,164 people in Australia declared that they were of ethnic Indian descent. This comprises 2.8 per cent of the Australian population. 592,000 of them were born in India.
PM Modi said, “It is an absolute pleasure to join the Indian diaspora in the community event.”
The Prime Minister thanked his Australian counterpart for supporting him in unveiling the foundation stone of ‘Little India’, a suburb of Sydney.
The declaration of Harris Park as ‘Little India’ was announced by Australian Prime Minister Albanese as he welcomed Modi at a community event.
Harris Park is a center in western Sydney where the Indian community celebrates festivals and events such as Diwali and Australia Day.
Earlier, in an interview with “The Australian” newspaper, PM Modi said he wanted to take ties with Australia to the “next level”, including helping ensure an “open and free” Indo-Pacific. including defense and security relations.
PM Modi told the newspaper, “As two democracies, India and Australia share common interests in a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. There is an alignment of our strategic approaches.”
(with agency inputs)