Sydney: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Sydney, Australia, announced that India will open a consulate in Brisbane to fulfil the long-pending demand by the diaspora. The major announcement came while addressing a packed Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Tuesday. The much-awaited event was also attended by his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
It is worth mentioning, India has three consulates-- Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Brisbane currently has an Honorary Consulate of India. "A new Indian Consulate will be opened soon in Brisbane," he said.
"An absolute delight connecting with Indian diaspora at the community programme," Modi said at the event attended by more than 21,000 people from across Australia.
Mutual respect and mutual trust is the key: Modi
He praised the Indian diaspora for advancing the bilateral ties. "The strongest and biggest foundations of this relation actually are mutual trust and mutual respect, and the real reason behind this is Indian diaspora," he added, amid big applause and chants of Modi-Modi.
Prime Minister Modi said that there was a time when 3Cs were used to define relations between India and Australia. These three were - Commonwealth, Cricket and Curry.
"After that, it was 3Ds.. Democracy, Diaspora and Dosti! Then it became 3Es, it was all about Energy, Economy and Education. But the truth is that the actual depth of the relation between India and Australia transcends these C, D, E..." Modi said.
You make Australia stronger: Albanese
The event was also attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “You make our nation and our shared communities better. You make Australia stronger,” Albanese said at the event as he praised the community.
Playing up India and Australia’s connections, Albanese said he wanted to see the relationship between the two countries continue to grow, including in the business and education sectors.
“We want to see more connections. More Australian and Indian students living and studying in each other’s countries, and bringing those experiences home,” he said. “More business leaders and artists and families sharing your experiences and your knowledge and your ideas,” he added.
