India, Australia to further collaborate in agriculture and science

India and Australia are set to further their co-operation in a host of areas pertaining to the agriculture sector as well as on science and technology, including in the field of fortification of bananas.

"Prime Minister showed interest in [three projects] and these relate to agriculture. The first of these was about fortification of bananas. The Queensland University of Technology and organizations in India are working on a project in this regard," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, while briefing the media about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the university.

"In the agricultural aspect the second part was of the 'AgBot' or the 'Agro Robot'. This machine is used in Australia [due to] the shortage that they have in terms of manpower. The third was about bio fuels and this was how agricultural waste is being used to produce chemicals which in turn can be used as fuel," he added.

Akbaruddin further said that another reason for Prime Minister Modi to visit the university was because there were many projects that the Australian side wanted to demonstrate.

"The Queensland University were very keen to showcase to the Prime Minister [several projects]. There was the cube which is a technology demonstrator in terms of how science is made easy for children. The Prime Minister is a keen proponent of digital technology and this was use of digital technology for promoting science," he said.

"In addition they also indicated that since Australia is an arid country how they are using biotechnology to improve yields in chickpeas and moong. This was an additional part that they demonstrated to Prime Minister," he added.

Prime Minister Modi, who arrived in Brisbane to attend the G-20 Summit, met European Union (EU) President Herman Van Rompuy, along with the Prime Ministers of the UK and Japan.

After attending the G-20 Summit in Brisbane, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to travel to Sydney, where he will attend a community reception and address the Indian Diaspora.

The Prime Minister will then travel to Canberra and address the special joint sitting of the Australian Parliament on November 18. He will also address a community event in Melbourne before travelling to Fiji.