PM Modi Invites Australian PM Anthony Albanese Over ICC World Cup In India

PM Modi used a cricket analogy to describe the fast-expanding India-Australia ties, saying the relations have entered the "T-20 mode".

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday invited his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese to the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup which is slated to take place by the end of this year in India.

PM Modi also used a cricket analogy to describe the fast-expanding India-Australia ties, saying the relations have entered the “T-20 mode”. He made the comments after holding wide-ranging talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese that focused on further expansion of the India-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership.

“I am inviting Prime Minister Albanese and all Australian cricket fans to come to India for the Cricket World Cup this year. At that time, along with cricket, you will also get to see the glitter and pomp of Diwali,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi said, “I came here within two months of my friend Prime Minister Albanese’s visit to India. This is our sixth meeting in the last one year. This reflects the depth of our wide-ranging ties, the convergence of our views and the maturity of our cooperation. “If I may say in the language of cricket, then our relations have come in T-20 mode.”

“The perspective of India-Australia relations is not limited to only our two countries. It is also associated with regional stability, peace and global welfare,” Modi said in his media statement.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a Ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Admiralty House in Sydney. Later, PM Modi and Australian PM Anthony Albanese had a free-wheeling interaction. pic.twitter.com/bAFnGATJoV

— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2023

There has been a rapid upswing in ties between the two countries in the last few years. Last year, India and Australia finalised the Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) and it came into force in December last. The two sides are now working on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

In June 2020, India and Australia elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support.

The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows the militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating the scaling up of overall defence cooperation.

On his part, the Australian prime minister also spoke about various aspects of the relationship between New Delhi and Canberra.

(With inputs from PTI)