PM Modi-Australian PM Summit Largest Australian Investment in India on Agenda

PM Narendra Modi (L) and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison

In a bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison on Monday, March 21, the Australian government will return 29 artefacts to India. Australia will also announce investments worth Rs 1,500 crore in India at the virtual summit to be held around 12.30 pm.

The investments will be spread across industries in several sectors like technology, critical minerals, etc. This will be the largest investment by Australia in India.

This is the second such summit between the two leaders. The India-Australia summit follows the historic first virtual summit of June 4, 2020, when the relationship between the two nations was elevated to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'.

As the summit is taking place in the midst of the crisis in Ukraine, it is expected to figure in the talks between the two world leaders. Unlike its Quad partners -- the US, Japan, and Australia -- India has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has maintained that the crisis should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.