Australian Member of Parliament (MP), Jason Wood on Sunday said that the country is very excited about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forthcoming visit to Australia in May.
Speaking on the sidelines of Sadbhavana, Mr Wood, who is the shadow minister for Community Safety, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Australia said, "Prime Minister Modi, you've got the biggest democracy in the world. We're very proud to say you'll be coming to Australia and you're doing an incredible job. And can I just say, the Australian Indian community is so excited about your visit. I'm excited about it. The wider Australian community be excited about it. To have the world's number one leader coming to Australia. We very much look forward to your visit and it's going to be truly a great honour for me if I get the chance to meet Mr Modi."
PM Modi will be travelling to Australia in May to take part in the QUAD leadership summit.
The announcement was made during the joint press conference hosted by the Prime Minister along with Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, who was on a four-day visit to India in March.
"India and Australia are both members of the Quad. I thank PM Albanese for inviting me to Australia for the Quad Leaders' Summit in May. I have invited him to India for the G20 summit in September," PM Modi had said.
The leaders of the QUAD group have met on four occasions earlier and their next meeting will be held in Australia. The group's importance in the region has increased due to its keen interest in sustainable and inclusive economic growth and increasing people-to-people connections not only between QUAD members but also between non-QUAD members.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on several occasions has highlighted that QUAD is a force of global good and is aimed at developing the region while protecting the interests of all members of the Indo-Pacific region.
Mr Wood also said that besides the Australian community, the Indian Australian community is very excited about PM Modi's forthcoming visit to Australia. Wood said that PM Modi has a great following in Australia and his leadership skills are respected by all people.
"We admire PM Modi's ability to respect all people and the spirit of working together and his humbleness. Under his leadership, India now is being regarded as having entrepreneurs and where your hard work is rewarded," Jason Wood said.
"And you have a great following in Australia and you're doing an incredible job. What I like about his leadership is his ability to respect all people, work together and be very humble, which is something I cannot say, not all political leaders are. And that's something about his quality and that's why he's so loved around the world, too," he said.
Praising India's progress on the economic front he said, "India is now a country regarded as having entrepreneurs. It's regarded as a country where you have a go at what you are doing and you'll get achievements with rewards from your hard work. And that's what I know Mr Modi has put in place, is the framework, that if you got to work hard, there's going to benefit behind that."
Sadbhawana event is an initiative started by NID Foundation taking the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' where he called the whole world as 'one family', to every corner of the world.
The event was attended by religious leaders, intellectuals, scholars, preachers and researchers.
"This was a fabulous event to have all the religious leaders together with one voice of peace and harmony. It was wonderful to see so many faith leaders talk about the need for world peace. It is important to have religious leaders sending positive messages around the world," said Mr Wood.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
