PM Modi Meets Leading Australian Business Leaders In Sydney

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met several top business leaders of Australian companies and called for enhancing cooperation with the Indian industry in areas such as technology, skilling, and clean energy.

He had bilateral meetings with Hancock Prospecting Executive Chairman Gina Rinehart, Fortescue Future Industry Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest, and AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder.

The PM, in a meeting with Rinehart, highlighted the reforms and initiatives being undertaken in India and invited her to partner in technology, investment and skilling in the mining and minerals sector, a statement from his office said.

PM Modi, during a meeting with Schroder, said that India is one of the most preferred major economies for foreign investments in the world and invited AustralianSuper to partner with India.

AustralianSuper is an Australian superannuation fund headquartered in Melbourne.

Also, during his meeting with Forrest, he welcomed the Group's plans to work with Indian companies in the field of Green Hydrogen.

"Emphasising India's ambitious renewable energy plans, the Prime Minister highlighted the transformative reforms and initiatives being taken by India, such as the Green Hydrogen Mission," it added.

PM Modi arrived in Sydney on Monday for the third and final leg of his three-nation tour during which he will hold talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and attend a community event to celebrate the country's dynamic, diverse Indian diaspora.

Rinehart, after the meeting with PM Modi, said that the potential for the two countries is "huge." "It was very interesting, it was actually exciting. The potential for our two countries is huge...In the last less than 5 years under Modi, your economy has grown to 3.5 trillion (USD) and the plan for the next 25 years is to grow to 32 trillion (USD). So, the growth recently is huge. The growth in future is going to be huge. Australia really needs to work harder to develop its relations with India..," ANI quoted her in a tweet.

Schroder said that PM Modi talked about his dreams for India in the meeting. "Ours was a most impressive meeting, the PM is a very impressive person who understands business which is very encouraging as well. The PM talked about his dreams for India and his ethic which was a really powerful message..," the CEO of AustralianSuper said in Sydney.