Quad Summit: PM Modi Meets Newly Elected Australian PM Anthony Albanese

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) held bilateral talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese (left).

(Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 24 May, held bilateral talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Tokyo, Japan, on the sidelines of the Quad summit.

"India’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia is robust and benefits not only the people of our nations but also the world. Was delighted to meet PM @AlboMP and take stock of bilateral ties. We discussed ways to add even greater momentum across key sectors," the prime minister tweeted.

Earlier the same day, both leaders attended the Quad summit along with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Newly-Elected PM of Australia

Modi also complimented the Australian PM and said that his presence at the summit just 24 hours after taking the oath showed his commitment to the Quad.

Albanese was elected as the new prime minister of Australia over the weekend, and was sworn in just before he flew out for the Quad summit in Japan.

Albanese tweeted,

"Warmly welcomed my meeting with PM Narendra Modi for an engaging discussion on Australia and India’s full strategic and economic agenda, including on clean energy technology. Australia-India ties have never been closer."

He added that Australia will host the next Quad summit in 2023.

The Quad summit, the second in-person meeting of these leaders, is taking place under the shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, PM Modi held separate meetings with a number of leading Japanese CEOs, besides a roundtable with Japanese business leaders and an interaction with the Indian community.

Modi's pre-departure statement stressed focussing on issues, both regional, like China, and global, like the going Russia-Ukraine war.