Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be among the first leaders to meet Australia’s new prime minister Anthony Albanese during the Quad summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Albanese, whose Labor Party defeated the Conservatives in the general election, said he would hold one-to-one meets with PM Modi, US president Joe Biden and Japanese premier Fumio Kishida, news agency AFP reported. “It enables us to send a message to the world that there is a change of government,” Albanese said, adding there will be some changes in policy in regard to climate change and Australia’s engagement with the world on the issues. Albanese and the key members of his cabinet will be sworn in on Monday.
Prime Minister Modi had congratulated Albanese soon after he was declared winner of the Australian general elections. “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,” he tweeted.
During the tenure of Albanese’ predecessor Scott Morrison, India and Australia signed key agreements to strengthen ties between the two countries. On April 2, India and Australia signed an interim free-trade agreement which would provide zero duty exports to 100 per cent tariff lines from India to the Australian market.
The Quad summit to be held in Tokyo on May 24 will discuss challenges and opportunities across the Indo-Pacific and focus on vision of a free, open and inclusive region. Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra had said that the summit is expected to focus on several issues including post-Covid recovery, building health security, climate action, sustainable infrastructure projects and creating resilient supply chains.