India has become a leading power in the world: Australian envoy praises PM Modi’s leadership

Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green said on Thursday that ties between India and Australia have “never been better,” praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for driving “dramatic steps forward.”

Calling India and Australia close friends, Green said the two countries are working on a shared vision for the Indian Ocean and a stable, prosperous and free Indo-Pacific. Speaking to IANS, he said India’s fast-growing economy is of particular interest to Australia.

“Our bilateral relations have never been better. Under the Modi government, there have been really dramatic steps forward. I like to think of it this way: there are three underlying drivers of our bilateral relationship. We now have strategic alignment. Australia and India have always been friends, but this is different now because we are working on a shared vision of what we want our Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific to be like – stable, prosperous and free,” Green told IANS.

“We have very strong economic complementarity. India’s economy is growing fast, which is of interest to every country in the world, but it is of special interest to Australia because we produce the kinds of things India needs for the next phase of its economic growth – whether that is energy, minerals, metals, skills or training. We do not compete much with India. And the third driver is the so-called human bridge: nearly one million people of Indian origin now call Australia home, adding a strong personal dimension to our relations,” he added.

The envoy described India as a “leading power” in the world and said PM Modi has reinforced that position. He cited the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi as a powerful demonstration of India’s emerging global role.

“India is a leading power in the world and that has been underlined by Prime Minister Modi. I arrived here two years ago during the G20 Summit, and it was a powerful demonstration of India’s arrival as a global player. Not only was the G20 full of significant outcomes in tech, culture and science, but India was able to bring all major global powers together in a single document that even addressed complex geostrategic issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said.

He added that PM Modi’s engagement with the Indian diaspora in Australia and his outreach on global platforms highlight India’s growing international influence.

PM Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently met on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, where both leaders expressed satisfaction at the deepening cooperation between the two countries since their relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020.

Asked whether India has emerged as a world power under PM Modi’s leadership, Green responded, “Definitely. India is the most populous country on earth, now the fastest-growing large economy, and a nation engaging on some of the world’s toughest issues and making headway. For Australia, India is an indispensable partner in the Indo-Pacific. These are ways in which India is making its presence felt in a very positive way in global affairs.”