NEW DELHI : Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott today telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to discuss the agenda for the upcoming G-20 Summit in Brisbane and told him that he and his people were keenly awaiting his (Mr Modi’s) four-city bilateral visit to Australia.
Mr Abbott invited Mr Modi, who will be in Australia from November 14-19, 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. Mr Abbott sought Mr Modi’s support for Australia’s infrastructure initiatives in the G-20. Mr Modi deeply appreciated Mr Abbott’s personal attention to his visit to Australia and thanked him for his special gesture of hosting a reception for him at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
He also emphasised the importance he attached to his visit to Australia and said it was a step towards qualitatively transforming a relationship that he greatly valued.
Mr Modi also thanked Mr 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 which would impart new momentum in the global economy. Describing G-20 as the key forum for global economic coordination, Prime Minister Modi said he looked forward to attending his first G-20 Summit. He also offered full support for Mr Abbott’s priorities for the G-20 Summit and shared his concerns on ‘jobless growth’ prospects, saying that focusing on transforming the quality of life of people, not just on issues like the health of the financial markets, was necessary for creating employment-generating economic growth. He 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 poor countries as well.
(AGENCIES)
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