Indian PM Narendra Modi holds talks with Australia's Scott Morrison, who calls meeting 'outstanding, great'
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The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told WION that his meeting with PM Narendra Modi was 'outstanding, great'. The two leaders met for the first time in a bilateral meeting since the Covid pandemic
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in the United States.
The meeting comes at a time when a new defence alliance has been set up between Australia, the US and the UK.
This meeting between Morrison and Modi is the first India-Australia bilateral meeting between the two leaders since the coronavirus pandemic took over the world. This is also the Indian Prime Minister’s first bilateral meeting of this US trip.
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Advancing friendship with Australia.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 23, 2021
PM @ScottMorrisonMP held talks with PM @narendramodi. They discussed a wide range of subjects aimed at deepening economic and people-to-people linkages between India and Australia. pic.twitter.com/zTcB00Kb6q
India’s Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval are also present in the meeting.
After the meeting, Morrison told WION that his meeting with Narendra Modi was "outstanding, great". He also took to Twitter to react to the meeting. "Great to meet with my good friend and a great friend of Australia, Indian PM @narendramodi, during my visit to the US," he tweeted. "A wide-ranging and productive discussion ahead of the first in-person Quad meeting as we look to further deepen the partnership between our two countries."
Great to meet with my good friend and a great friend of Australia, Indian PM @narendramodi, during my visit to the US. A wide-ranging and productive discussion ahead of the first in-person Quad meeting as we look to further deepen the partnership between our two countries. https://t.co/XZutkNw3t7
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) September 23, 2021
It is an important meeting as it will play a huge role in reassuring the Indian government that the QUAD alliance will not suffer due to the new alliance between the US, Australia and UK.
WION’s sources in the Indian government have claimed that India was informed in advance by Australia about this new alliance.
Australia is an important partner for India and experts are hoping for a constructive dialogue between the two leaders, given the long friendly history between the two countries.
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The two leaders discussed plans to deepen economic and people-to-people linkages between the two countries.
After his meeting with the Australian PM, Indian PM will be meeting the Vice President of the US Kamala-Harris. The two leaders will meet for the first time since Harris' appointment in January 2021.
Narendra Modi is also scheduled to meet the outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga a few hours after concluding his meeting with Harris.
Upon reaching the US, Modi met with leading American CEOs from five different key sectors.