India’s PM Modi to meet new Australian Prime Minister; will attend 23 meetings in 40 hours

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida, and the new Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese at the QUAD summit in Tokyo on May 24.

Prime Minister @narendramodi waves to the officials at Palam Technical area before emplaning to take part in #QuadSummit at Tokyo. @TheNewIndian_in pic.twitter.com/6nCwGdUhuo

— Pramod Kumar Singh (@SinghPramod2784) May 22, 2022

Modi will have 23 engagements in around 40 hours of stay in Tokyo including meeting Albanese during the Quad summit on Tuesday.

At the invitation of PM @kishida230 of Japan, PM @narendramodi will leave for Tokyo tonight for the next Quad Leaders’ Summit.

Catch a glimpse of what’s in store. pic.twitter.com/Ed3gKTonfD

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) May 22, 2022

Earlier, Mr Albanese had told The Australian that if he were to win it was his intention to go to the Quad leaders meeting to represent Australia which is taking place in Tokyo on 24th May.

“I will visit the Quad and renew my acquaintance with (US) President (Joe) Biden but also meet, very importantly, with (Japanese) Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida and (Indian Prime Minister) Narendra Modi who are important friends of Australia,” says Albanese.

Modi had congratulated Albanese soon after he was declared winner of the Australian general elections. He tweeted that he will soon hold a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart and is looking forward to “working towards further strengthening our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”

Congratulations @AlboMP for the victory of the Australian Labor Party, and your election as the Prime Minister! I look forward to working towards further strengthening our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and for shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific region.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2022

In a statement ahead of his departure for Japan, Modi said:

“The newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be joining the Quad Leaders’ Summit for the first time. I look forward to a bilateral meeting with him during which the multifaceted cooperation between India and Australia under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and regional and global issues of mutual interest will be discussed.”

Thanking Modi for his wishes, Albanese tweeted: “looking forward to our discussions at the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo.”

Thank you @narendramodi – looking forward to our discussions at the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 22, 2022

Australia’s High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell AO has tweeted that Albanese “is no stranger to India.”

Australia’s Prime Minister-elect @AlboMP is no stranger to India having travelled the country as a backpacker in 1991 and led a parliamentary delegation in 2018. During the campaign he committed to deepen 🇮🇳🇦🇺 economic, strategic and people-to-people links. #democracy #dosti

— Barry O’Farrell AO (@AusHCIndia) May 21, 2022

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India’s Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra had said in a statement that the summit is expected to focus on several issues including post-Covid economic recovery, climate action, sustainable infrastructure projects, building health security, and creating resilient supply chains. 

During PM Scott Morrison’s tenure, India and Australia signed key trade agreements to strengthen ties. Albanese has recently said that there will be some changes in Australia’s policy with reference to climate change. 

Quad is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States and will provide an opportunity to the leaders to discuss recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region.

Modi will also interact with more than 36 Japanese CEOs and hundreds of Indian diaspora members.