Australian PM phones PM Modi to discuss G-20 agenda

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia from November 14-19, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had a telephonic conversation with him this morning to discuss the agenda for the G-20 Summit in Brisbane.

Prime Minister Abbott also conveyed that he and the Australian people were keenly awaiting Prime Minister Modi's four-city bilateral visit to Australia.

Prime Minister Abbott invited Prime Minister Modi to share, 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.

Prime Minister Abbott also sought Prime Minister's support for Australia's infrastructure initiatives in the G20.

Prime Minister Modi deeply appreciated Prime Minister Abbott's personal attention to his visit to Australia. He especially thanked Prime Minister Abbott for his special gesture of hosting a reception for him at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Prime Minister Modi emphasized the importance he attached to his visit to Australia, as a step towards qualitatively transforming a relationship that he greatly values.

Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister 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 G 20 Summits, which will impart new momentum in the global economy.

Describing G 20 as the key forum for global economic coordination, Prime Minister Modi looked forward to attending his first G20 Summit. Prime Minister Modi offered full support for Prime Minister Abbott's priorities for the G20 Summit.

Prime Minister Modi shared his concerns on 'jobless growth' prospects and felt that focusing on transforming the quality of life of people, not just on issues like the health of the financial markets, is necessary for creating employment-generating economic growth.

He also 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 the poor countries as well.