Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives in India with 25 business leaders

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. File Pic/AFP

In a joyful interview with Nova 937 radio, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that as many as 25 business heads would accompany him to India as the country is a massive market.

25 leading business people are going, the CEO of Wesfarmers, Fortescue and the chair of BHP, Rio Tinto, they're all on their way, he said in an interview with Nova 937.

"Off to India. And 25 leading business people are going. The CEO of Wesfarmers from here, and Fortescue and the chair of BHP, Rio Tinto, they're all on their way," the Australian Prime Minister said in the interview.

During the interview, he was asked if he would enjoy spicy food in India.

To which the Prime Minister replied that the great thing about being an Australian is they eat all sorts of food. "We eat spicy food. I like hot food," he added.

He recalled the days when he spent six weeks backpacking around India in 1991.

He shared how he stayed in cheaper places and caught trains and went hitching.

India is friendly and India has a very different culture, he said.

He also recalled his 2018 visit to India when he had arrived as a part of a parliamentary delegation.

He said that the previous two experiences, 1991 and 2018, were different and this time also it would be different.

"I don't think I'll be wandering around in Connaught Place in the middle of New Delhi, being harassed to buy stuff. I think it'll be a little bit more protected," he said jokingly.

Regarding International Women's Day, he named Penny Wong (Australian Foreign Minister) and Katy Gallagher (Australian Finance Minister) and other women in his cabinet and said that all of them are fantastic women.

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"Well, I'm taking Madeleine King (Minister for Resources of Australia) with me to India, as the Resources Minister, but it is so good that we have a Government that's actually representative of the population," he added.

The Australian Prime Minister arrived in Ahmedabad, India on the evening of Wednesday where Albanese, along with PM Modi will watch day 1 of the final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad.

According to an official release, the first in-person India-Australia Annual Summit will take place during Albanese's visit.

At the Annual Summit, leaders take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The summit lays the way forward on new initiatives and enhanced cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between India and Australia. The Summit was first held virtually on June 4, 2020, the release said.

The visit comes after a series of high-level engagements and an exchange of ministerial visits between the two sides in 2022 and in 2023. The last visit by an Australian PM (Malcolm Turnbull) to India was in 2017.

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