Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day tour of Australia coincides with one year since this week Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese was elected prime minister, and fostered a growing bipartisan relationship. While his visit was originally planned for a meeting of the Quad, a multilateral event, it changed to a purely bilateral visit after the US President opted out of domestic political constraints; Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida followed suit, and a smaller Quad summit was held in Hiroshima. As a result, Mr. Modi’s visit to Sydney has been the focus of even more headlines, especially his address to the Indian community that Mr. Albanese joined, as well as his address to business groups. In what was their sixth such meeting in the past year, announcements from the Modi-Albanes meeting included the opening of an Australian consulate in Bengaluru and an Indian consulate in Brisbane, an agreement on migration and mobility, and finalizing the terms of reference. India-Australia Green Hydrogen Task Force. Defense and security ties, cooperation on renewable energy, and critical minerals were also part of the original agenda, as was the need to sign a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement by December. Despite their differing stances on international issues, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions, they found consistent and common cause in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and dealing with an aggressive China.
However, it was the festivities as well as the concerns of the Indian-origin community that appeared to overshadow all else. While the two leaders cheered huge crowds at Sydney’s Superdome, Mr Modi said the “real reason, the real power” behind the bilateral ties came from the people of Indian origin in Australia. The next morning, the activities of other groups and the struggles of people of Indian origin were also discussed as Mr. Modi reiterated his concerns over the vandalism and destruction of community centers and temples with pro-Khalistani, anti-India and anti-Modi graffiti. , These were raised during Mr. Albanese’s visit to India in March. While any attack on the Indian consulate is a legitimate bilateral concern, New Delhi should consider how much attention it wishes to pay to attacks on Australian citizens and Australian property by Australian nationals. While the increasing incidents may be a cause for concern, it is by no means clear whether centering them during such visits is conducive to strengthening common understanding between the two countries or in the best interest of the “3D” Mr. Modi Is. Said that today bind both the countries – democracy, diaspora and friendship [Friendship],