Modi’s Visit To Australia Will Be About Solidarity

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for his first visit to Australia after having assumed the office, one of the major expectations from Indian diaspora everywhere is, to see him repeat the Madison Sqaure magic that came about during his visit to New York few weeks ago.

And why not! Modi was supported by diaspora in Australia to the hilt during his run up to the race of Prime Minister’s office, almost as much as the Indians living in the US did.

The preparation seems to be very inclusive too. He has created a dedicated Internet page for all people to list out their expectations from this visit. He tweeted a few days ago saying: “I want to hear ideas and thoughts from all of you, including friends in Australia and the Indian community there on my visit.”

When he lands on the Australian soil in November, Modi will address a joint sitting of federal parliament of Australia.

He will be the first Indian Prime Minister to have done so in the last 28 years. The last visit was by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. Since then, though India and Australia share a very close bond, no Indian premiers visited the country to take the bilateral relations further.

His visit to Australia will be to participate in G20 summit scheduled to be held in Brisbane, but his visit itself is a singular event that will provide major boost and create synergies that will take the close relationship between the nations to the next level.

After participating in the G20 summit, Modi will proceed to Canberra to hold a bilateral meeting with Australian counterpart Tony Abbott. This will be the second significant meeting of the leaders after Abbott visited India last month. During this visit, the two countries entered into a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.

With a prelude like this, the visit is more significant than the excitement that is built around the event. Though Indian Australian community organisations are planning to use this visit to build more solidarity within communities in Syndey, and Melbourne using the famous Olympic Grounds, Modi’s speech will probably be broadcast from the historical Melbourne Cricket Grounds.

As the enthusiasm levels go up on this visit, it is also a rather noteworthy aspect that Australia is shaping up as India’s most important international partners. Australia is increasingly becoming a significant source of India’s energy needs. With the nuclear agreement being firmly in place, India will certainly be very focused on completing the administrative agreements and begin the groundwork for implementation of those.

This can be termed as the event of solidarity since Australia is the current chair for both Indian Ocean Regional Association and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. Coincidentally, both nations are looking forward to working together on security—especially around the Indian Ocean region.

However, what remains to be seen is whether the Indian Prime Minister will be able to provide any succor to the Indians living in Australia, who have been subject to racial abuse on several instances. The issue will probably resonate during the Prime Minister’s meeting with the diaspora.

Before landing in Australia Modi who soon aims to be a global states man, will also visit Myanmar to discuss a host of security issues. All along this trip, Modi would be sharing stage with regional and world leaders and to brainstorm on pressing security needs and global economic issues.

The meetings will have similar, focused and regionally specific agendas with common concerns. Modi’s government has so far been forthright in its views about ensuring security and stability in surrounding nations for mutual benefit.
Image: Indiatimes