New Delhi, July 9 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted India's growing economic potential and invited Australian businesses to deepen investments as he jointly addressed the Australia-India CEOs Forum and the Economic Roadmap Business event with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Melbourne on Thursday.
The two events brought together leading Indian and Australian CEOs and business leaders, representatives of major Australian superannuation funds and institutional investors, and Vice-Chancellors of leading Australian universities.
Addressing the CEOs Forum, Prime Minister Modi said India's strong economic growth, policy reforms, digital transformation and expanding innovation ecosystem were creating new business opportunities for Australian partners. Stressing the complementarities between the Indian and Australian economies, he pointed to vast opportunities across manufacturing, clean energy, critical minerals, mining, infrastructure, urban development, aviation, logistics, advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, fintech, food processing and the digital economy.
He said India's scale and Australian expertise make for a win-win proposition and invited Australian investors to take advantage of long-term investment opportunities in India.
Prime Minister Modi also welcomed the growing presence of Australian universities in India, saying deeper collaboration in higher education, research, innovation and skill development would make talent in both countries future-ready while helping them tap into global opportunities.
Following the CEOs Forum, Prime Minister Modi addressed the Economic Roadmap business event, attended by over 200 CEOs and business leaders from both countries.
Highlighting the natural synergies between India and Australia, he said shared democratic values, a common vision for the Indo-Pacific, vibrant people-to-people ties and strong political understanding provide fertile ground for expanding business partnerships between the two countries.
Expressing satisfaction over the growth in trade and investment ties under the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) of 2022, Prime Minister Modi called for the early conclusion of the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to take bilateral business ties to a new level.
He urged business leaders to leverage the complementary strengths of both countries to create global solutions in sectors such as rare earths, lithium, batteries, electronics, electric vehicles, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and defence supply chains.
Prime Minister Modi also suggested that stronger economic partnerships between Indian states and Australian provinces, based on their respective core competencies, would help elevate bilateral business ties. Referring to the optimism and meaningful ideas emerging from the discussions at both forums, he expressed confidence that India-Australia economic ties would continue to prosper.
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