Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian premier Tony Abbott on Friday discussed the agenda for the G-20 Summit over phone. The PM is scheduled to visit Brisbane in Australia from November 14-19 for the Summit.
During their conversation, Abbott conveyed that he and the Australian people were keenly awaiting ModiRss four-city bilateral visit to Australia. Abbott invited Modi to share, in particular, his vision for accelerating global economic growth and employment generation, based on his personal experiences of reforms and growth at the State level and his plans for India. Abbott also sought Modi’s support for Australia’s infrastructure initiatives in the G-20.
Modi appreciated Abbott’s personal attention to his visit and thanked him for his special gesture of hosting a reception at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. During their conversation, Modi emphasised the importance he attached to his visit to Australia terming it as a step towards qualitatively transforming a relationship that he greatly values.
Modi also thanked Abbott for his leadership in developing a meaningful agenda for the G-20 Summit and expressed confidence that the Brisbane Summit would be one of the most memorable G 20 meets, which will impart new momentum in the global economy. Describing G-20 as the key forum for global economic coordination, Prime Minister said he was looking forward to attending his first G-20 Summit. He also offered full support for AbbottRss priorities for the G-20 Summit.
During the conversation, Modi shared his concerns on Rsjobless growth’ and felt that focusing on transforming the quality of life of people, not just on issues like the health of the financial markets, is necessary for creating employment-generating economic growth.
He also suggested that in addition to facilitating financial flows for infrastructure financing, there was a need to look at innovative mechanisms for infrastructure development, including research on transforming waste into infrastructure inputs and creating a virtual centre for information exchange, guidance, identifying opportunities and facilitating flows, which would be beneficial to the poor countries as well.
Modi will visit Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne after finishing engagements at Brisbane.