Australian PM to visit India next year, to address Raisina Dialogue meet

ASEAN partners of Australia and other nations in the region set to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership embracing 16 economies with a combined population of 3.5 billion and a combined GDP of USD 25.7 billion.

Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is slated to visit India in January next year at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and will deliver the inaugural address at the Raisina Dialogue 2020 in New Delhi.

I am honored to accept the invitation of my friend Prime Minister Modi to visit India in January 2020 including to deliver the inaugural address at the Raisina Dialogue, Morrison said during his address at the Sydney Town Hall on Thursday.

The Raisina Dialogue, India's annual flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, is slated to be held from January 14 to 16 next year. The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.

ORF president Samir Saran who curates the Raisina Dialogue thanked Morrison for accepting the invitation.

Underlining that India is a "natural partner" for Australia, Morrison said he has invited Ashok Jacob, chair of the Australia-India Council Board to lead the business delegation during the upcoming visit.

"My visit will be another step in cementing India in the top tier of Australia's partnerships," Morrison remarked.

Touching upon the issue of Indo-Pacific, the Australian premier said that India is a "great success story" in the region, adding that it is "a land of durable institutions and shared values". This visit will bring government and business together to pursue our India Economic Strategy that has captured the attention of our Indian partners.

He hoped that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, a free trade agreement with 16 countries will be signed next month.

The special importance of the deal is that it will draw India more substantially into the Indo-Pacific economy, he further added.