Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi gets a “rock star welcome” wherever he goes as he welcomed his “dear friend” at an event here and compared him to American singer… from Bruce Springsteen. Welcoming Modi in front of a crowd of 21,000 at the Kudos Bank Arena, one of the city’s largest indoor stadiums, Albanese pitched for better cooperation between India and Australia.
When the Indian Prime Minister arrived at the venue to address the audience, he introduced Modi as a man who ‘welcomes rock stars wherever he goes’. “The last time I saw someone on this stage was Bruce Springsteen and he didn’t get the reception that Prime Minister Modi got. Prime Minister Modi is the boss,” Albanese said at the event.
He thanked his “dear friend” Modi for “bringing to Australia the spirit of the world’s largest democracy”, saying he has “helped make our democracy stronger and more inclusive”. He described the cheering audience, mainly made up of members of the Australian-Indian community, as friends and said he was proud to have made Australia his home.
“You make our country and the communities we share better. You make Australia stronger,” he said. Playing down India-Australia ties, Albanese said he would like to see ties between the two countries grow, including in the trade and education sectors. “We want to see more contact. More Australian and Indian students living and studying in each other’s countries and bringing those experiences home,” he said.
“More business leaders and artists and families are sharing your experience and your knowledge and your ideas,” he said. Albanese said he was reminded of his previous visits to India at the age of 28 when he returned to the country as prime minister earlier this year. “It was a journey full of unforgettable moments: celebrating Holi in Gujarat, paying floral tributes to the great Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi and taking a tour of the incredible stadium in Ahmedabad on the first day of the fourth Test,” he added.
“Wherever I went I felt a deep sense of connection between Australians and the people of India. It’s a warmth I felt when I backpacked around India for 5 weeks in 1991, if you Want to understand, then travel by train and video bus,” he said. Albanese and Modi on Tuesday night announced the inaugural advisory board for the Center for Australia-India Relations, which the federal government announced its plans to set up earlier this year.
Headquartered in Parramatta, the center’s mission is to work across government, industry, academia and the community to further promote ties between the two countries and encourage businesses to ‘seize the opportunities’ of their economic partnership, news. Com.Au reported. Albanese said the centre’s location in western Sydney was ‘testament to the vitality of the Indian-Australian experience’, giving a shout-out to new Parramatta Lord Mayor Samir Pandey.
Pandey was elected to the post a day earlier, becoming the first Lord Mayor of Australia to be born in India. Modi’s visit to Australia comes after meeting Albanese, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima over the weekend.