Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today agreed to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between Australia and India at the Annual Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.

The leaders announced their intention for the soonest possible conclusion of the ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which will build on the landmark trade agreement signed last year. The CECA will be a transformational deal that will create new jobs and opportunities in both countries.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much. I was very pleased to meet Prime Minister Modi again after our meetings at the G20 and the East Asia Summit last year. And I look forward very much to hosting Prime Minister Modi in Australia for the Quad Leaders’ Summit in May and then returning to India in September for the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The relationship with India is multifaceted.

Students, faculty, Australian alumni, distinguished guests.

Namaskar.

It is such an honour to be here at what is not just one of India’s most prestigious centres of higher education … but a place of world renown, and one that is publicly run and funded.

Professor Banerjee, Dr Saran and everyone at IIT-Delhi and the Observer Research Foundation — thank you so much for hosting this afternoon.

This is my third visit to India, but my first as Prime Minister. The first, I hope, of many.

1. At the invitation of Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Australia the Honourable Anthony Albanese MP paid a State Visit to India from 8 to 11 March 2023. Prime Minister Albanese was accompanied by Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Honourable Don Farrell, Minister for Resources, the Honourable Madeleine King MP, a high-level official delegation and a large business delegation. Prime Minister Albanese visited Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi on his first bilateral visit to India.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: There are three issues that I'll raise this morning. Firstly, today is International Women's Day and I'm very proud to lead the first Australian government ever made up of a majority of women. 54 women in our caucus of 103 members. And it's no accident that the government has already made significant reforms to advance the interests of women and therefore advance the interests of Australia. Paid Parental Leave legislation passed this week.

NAT LOCKE, HOST: Welcome to the studio the Prime Minister of our fair country, Anthony Albanese. Welcome back.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be here. Nice intro music. The anthem, how about that?

SHAUN MCMANUS, HOST: It is. Standing to attention for you, Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER: Except you're not actually standing.

SHAUN: I should have. I do apologise.

Good evening, everyone.

Khem cho.

I am very pleased to be here in India.

It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge that Deakin University will be the first overseas university approved to establish a branch campus in India.

It’s a great honour for Deakin University – and for Australia, too.

The campus will be built at the new GIFT district not far from here, and will offer students the opportunity to study cyber security and business analytics with Deakin.

PRIME MINISTER: Today is a very busy day, where I’ll be here in Ahmedabad, then to Mumbai, and then to Delhi. It's a day of three parts as well, a day where we begin by celebrating the cultural links between Australia and India with a visit for the opening of the fourth cricket test, which is celebrating as well 75 years of test cricket between Australia and India, going back to when Donald Bradman was the captain of the first Australian cricket team at that time. And it will be a real opportunity for, once again, to cement those relations.

JOHN GRIMES, CEO SMART ENERGY COUNCIL: Prime Minister, welcome and we're absolutely honoured by your presence today. This is a really important initiative. This is Australian industry, Australian business and research, actually collaborating with the fantastic, massive market of India to develop the smart energy industry that's going to power the Australia economy and the Indian economy in the future. We have 34 companies, Australian companies, represented on this tour today, today is the first day.

Can I welcome our guests, my fellow Australians who are here in very large numbers, but thank our Indian hosts for the very warm welcome that we've had here.

I feel as though I've been in India for some time, but we did arrive just a few hours ago, yesterday. But we have done an enormous amount, and this morning, myself and Prime Minister Modi have shared an intimate occasion with 100,000 people at the magnificent stadium there in Gujarat.