"India, Australia great friends", says Australian PM Albanese

India and Australia are great friends and both sides are making the partnership stronger every day, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday ahead of talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Albanese also said that India and Australia are competing on the cricket field to be the world’s best team but together the two countries are building a better world.

The Australian prime minister made the comments after he was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning.

Albanese arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening after completing his engagements in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

On Thursday morning, Modi and Albanese watched the fourth Test match between India and Australia in Ahmedabad.

“Australia and India are great friends We are partners and we are building that partnership even stronger each and every day,” Albanese said.

The Australian prime minister said Canberra wants to cooperate with India to build a stronger relationship in areas of culture, economic relations as well as security.

“We are competing on the cricket field to be world’s best but together we are building a better world,” he said.

Albanese also visited Rajghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

In their talks, Modi and Albanese are expected to focus on boosting overall bilateral ties in areas of trade and investment, defence and critical minerals.

The two leaders are also expected to review the situation in the Indo-Pacific amid growing concerns over China’s increasing military assertiveness in the region, people familiar with the matter said.

Days ahead of his visit to India, Albanese said a stronger India-Australia partnership is good for regional stability and that it also means more trade and investment.

It is his first visit to India after becoming prime minister in May last year.

The last visit to India by an Australian prime minister was in 2017.