Before Fiji flight, Modi invites Oz industry

Before leaving for Fiji at the end of his five-day tour of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited industry leaders in the host country to cooperate in developing green technology, education and tourism sectors.

Promoting the Make in India initiative, he said India was open for business and reforms were being initiated to boost industries.

At a hour-long roundtable meet, hosted by Victoria state Governor Alex Chernov, Modi met top chief executive officers. "Victoria has taken a good initiative of tying up with India. I would like to focus on two main areas -research and education," he said, adding the Indian government was also keen to boost cruise tourism.

India and Australia also agreed on a framework for cooperation across defence, cyber and maritime security and combating terrorism, including threats from citizens joining extremist groups.

Modi and Australian counterpart Tony Abbott decided to conclude a long-pending Free Trade pact by the end of the next year and an "early closure" of the civilian nuclear deal to facilitate uranium imports to India.

In a speech to the joint session of the Australian parliament, Modi said: "We should collaborate more on maintaining maritime security."

Both India and Australia have reservations over China's growing military assertions in maritime dispute with its neighbours in the South China Sea.

Abbott met the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tasmania later.

On Wednesday, Modi - the first Indian PM to visit Fiji since Indira Gandhi went there in 1981 - will meet his Fijian counterpart Frank Bainimarama.