PM Modi accorded ceremonial welcome, Guard of Honour in Australia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday received a ceremonial welcome and a Guard of Honour in Melbourne during the Australia leg of his three-nation tour. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed PM Modi at the ceremonial event held at Government House Victoria, where the national anthem of India was played and Australian forces accorded full ceremonial honours.
The ceremonial reception followed a series of high-level engagements between the two leaders, including their joint participation in the Australia-India CEO Forum and the Economic Roadmap Business Reception, where they addressed leading business executives, investors and industry representatives from both countries.
At the CEO Forum, PM Modi invited Australian businesses to become partners in India’s growth story, highlighting opportunities across manufacturing, clean energy, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, digital economy, infrastructure, aviation, logistics, food processing, financial services and advanced technologies. He said India’s rapid economic growth, policy reforms, digital transformation and expanding innovation ecosystem were creating significant investment opportunities, while Australia’s expertise and capital could complement India’s scale and manufacturing ambitions.
Highlighting India’s clean energy goals, PM odi said the country was building a robust manufacturing ecosystem for hydro projects, green hydrogen, solar modules and wind turbines. He reiterated India’s target of achieving 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2070, adding that Australian technology, investment and resources could accelerate this transition.
The Prime Minister also underlined the success of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), saying the pact had significantly strengthened bilateral economic ties since its implementation in 2022. He noted that India’s exports to Australia had doubled under the agreement and businesses in both countries had benefited from expanded market access. PM Modi also called for the early conclusion of the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to further deepen trade and investment ties.
Addressing the larger Economic Roadmap Business Reception, PM Modi described India and Australia as “natural and trusted partners” whose shared democratic values, common vision for the Indo-Pacific and strong people-to-people ties provided a solid foundation for expanding economic cooperation. He urged businesses from both countries to leverage complementary strengths and jointly develop global solutions in areas such as rare earths, lithium, batteries, semiconductors, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and defence supply chains. He also stressed the importance of forging stronger partnerships between Indian states and Australian provinces based on their respective strengths.
In a significant investment announcement during the event, AustralianSuper committed an investment of AU$500 million in India. Welcoming the announcement, PM Modi said the investment reflected growing global confidence in India’s economic reforms and long-term growth trajectory.
The Australia-India CEO Forum, originally established in 2012 and relaunched by Modi and Albanese in 2023, is expected to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment cooperation and support implementation of key economic initiatives between the two countries.
