Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home on Thursday morning after a successful 10-day three-nation trip to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji.
He was received by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and senior leaders of the Delhi Unit of the BJP.
His first stopover was in Myanmar capital Nay Pyi Taw, where he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Summit and the Eastsia Summit (EAS). He also had bilateral interactions with several leaders, including Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, on the sidelines of these two summit-level meetings.
In Myanmar, Prime Minister Modi stated that India is keen to have a comprehensive and balanced economic agreement with all ASEAN countries, and added that vast economic opportunities can be created via information highways.uring the East Asia Summit that followed, he had successful meetings with the presidents of Indonesia and The Philippines, the Chinese Premier and theussian Prime Minister.
From Nay Pyi Taw, the Prime Minister travelled to Brisbane, Australia, to attend the G-20 Summit, where he stressed on the need for reforms, tackling issues pertaining to the concept and implementation of processes, especially in developing countries. He also emphasized on the need for all nations, developed and developing to think of ways to counter the menace of black money.
He also called for the creation of a virtual centre of infrastructure among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations during an informal meeting of the group held on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit. He also made a strong pitch for the operationalisation of the 100 billion dollar BRICS Development Bank. He said that India was keen ratify its creation by the end of this year, and have it inaugurated by 2016. India, he said, would hold its presidency for the first six years, and the bank’s headquarters would be located in Shanghai.
In Brisbane, Prime Minister Modi met several world leaders, including the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, the U.S. President and the Japanese Prime Minister. He also had bilateral talks with the Prime Ministers of Canada and Australia and the German Chancellor, among others.
He also unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Brisbane. From Brisbane, he travelled to Sydney to address a 16,000-strong expatriate Indian community at the Allphones Arena and had an interaction with captains of industry.
Thereafter, he travelled to Australian capital Canberra for talks with the Australian leadership and to deliver a historic first address to a joint session of the Australian Parliament.
From Canberra, Prime Minister Modi travelled to Melbourne, the final leg of his five-day visit to Australia, where he addressed and interacted with political and business leaders of the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, addressed expatriate Indians at the over 160-year-old historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the presence of Prime Minister Abbot and Indian cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and V.V.S. Laxman, besides presenting a Charkha-designed World Cup-related memento to the Australian Prime Minister with a hope of seeing an Australia-India final in four months. He also attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Abbott.
During his visit to Australia, both countries inked five bilateral agreements to enhance strategic engagement between the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi’s final destination was Fiji, where the Prime Minister said India could play a significant role in creating a “Digital” Fiji, and suggested that the island-nation could serve as a hub for stronger Indian engagement with Pacific Islands.
He said that he saw his visit as an opportunity to renew an old relationship, and lay the foundation for a strong partnership in the future. He also addressed the business community, expatriate Indian community and the parliament of Fiji during his day-long trip.
Prime Minister Modi further said it was time for the two sovereign nations to work towards the goal of creating an inter-linked region with shared aspirations andommon challenges.
The two countries also inked three bilateral agreements.
The visits to Australia and Fiji were also used to pitch for and attract foreign investment to India, as also to project the potential of an India that was getting younger and more achievement-oriented. (ANI)