·
High-level
business engagement: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Australian Prime Minister Anthony
Albanese jointly addressed the Australia–India CEOs Forum and the Economic Roadmap Business event
in Melbourne on 9 July
2026.
·
Broad
participation: The events brought together:
o Leading Indian and Australian CEOs.
o Business leaders.
o Representatives of major Australian
superannuation funds and institutional investors.
o Vice-Chancellors of leading Australian
universities.
·
India's
economic strengths: Prime Minister Modi highlighted that
India's:
o Strong economic growth.
o Ongoing policy reforms.
o Digital transformation.
o Expanding innovation ecosystem.
are creating significant opportunities for
Australian businesses.
·
Priority
sectors for collaboration: He identified major
opportunities in:
o Manufacturing.
o Clean energy.
o Critical minerals.
o Mining.
o Infrastructure.
o Urban development.
o Aviation.
o Logistics.
o Advanced technologies.
o Artificial intelligence (AI).
o Fintech.
o Food processing.
o Digital economy.
·
Complementary
economies: Modi emphasised that India's scale combined
with Australia's expertise
offers a mutually beneficial ("win-win") partnership.
·
Investment
invitation: He invited Australian investors to make long-term investments in India,
highlighting the country's expanding economic opportunities.
·
Higher
education cooperation: Modi welcomed the
growing presence of Australian universities in India and called for deeper
collaboration in:
o Higher education.
o Research.
o Innovation.
o Skill development.
to prepare talent for future global
opportunities.
·
Economic
Roadmap event: Modi also addressed a larger gathering of
more than 200 CEOs and
business leaders, highlighting the strong foundations of the
bilateral economic relationship.
·
Natural
strategic synergies: He said India and Australia are connected
through:
o Shared democratic values.
o A common Indo-Pacific vision.
o Strong people-to-people ties.
o Close political understanding.
·
Support
for ECTA and CECA: Modi welcomed the growth in trade and
investment under the India–Australia
Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) 2022 and called
for the early conclusion
of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
·
Emerging
technology cooperation: He encouraged
businesses to leverage complementary strengths in:
o Rare earths.
o Lithium.
o Batteries.
o Electronics.
o Electric vehicles (EVs).
o Semiconductors.
o Artificial intelligence.
o Defence supply chains.
·
Sub-national
partnerships: Modi proposed stronger economic
partnerships between Indian
states and Australian provinces, based on their respective
competitive strengths.
·
Positive
outlook: Concluding the discussions, Prime
Minister Modi expressed confidence that the ideas generated during the two
business forums would further strengthen India–Australia
trade, investment and economic cooperation.
[ABS News Service/09.07.2026]
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Mr. Anthony
Albanese, jointly addressed the Australia-India CEOs Forum and the Economic Roadmap
Business event in Melbourne on 9 July 2026. Leading Indian and Australian CEOs and
business leaders, representatives of major Australian superannuation funds and institutional
investors, and Vice-Chancellors of leading Australian universities participated
in the two events.
Addressing
the CEOs Forum, Prime Minister Modi highlighted that India's strong economic growth,
policy reforms, digital transformation, and expanding innovation ecosystem were
creating new business opportunities for Australian partners. Noting the complementarities
between the Indian and Australian economies, Prime Minister Modi underlined the
vast opportunities available in India across manufacturing, clean energy, critical
minerals, mining, infrastructure, urban development, aviation, logistics, advanced
technologies, artificial intelligence, fintech, food processing and digital economy
sectors. He stated that India’s scale and Australian expertise make for a win-win
proposition.
Prime
Minister Modi invited Australian investors to take advantage of the opportunities
for long-term investments in India. He welcomed the growing presence of Australian
universities in India and highlighted that deeper collaboration in higher education,
research, innovation and skill development would not only make talent in both countries
future ready, but also help them to tap into global opportunities.
Following
the CEOs Forum, Prime Minister Modi also addressed the Economic Roadmap business
event, a larger gathering of over 200 CEOs and business leaders from both sides.
Speaking about natural synergies between India and Australia, he highlighted that
shared democratic values, a common vision for the Indo-Pacific, vibrant people-to-people
ties and strong political understanding created fertile ground for the business
partnership between the two countries to grow and prosper together. Expressing satisfaction
at the growth of trade and investment ties based on the Economic Cooperation and
Trade Agreement (ECTA) of 2022, he called for early conclusion of the proposed Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), so as to propel business ties to a new level.
He urged the business leaders to leverage complementary strengths on both sides
and create global solutions, especially in the fields of rare earths, lithium, batteries,
electronics, EVs, semiconductors, AI and defence supply chains. Prime Minister Modi
also suggested that for bilateral business ties to grow to the next level, it was
important that Indian states and Australian provinces forge dynamic economic partnerships
based on their core competencies. Noting the optimism and meaningful ideas generated
by the discussions in the two forums, Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence that
India-Australia economic ties would continue to prosper.