Brisbane/Sidney, 17 November 2014

Prime Minister’s speech at the Business Breakfast hosted by Premier of Queensland

I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional elders on whose land we stand today, and their ancestors, past and present.

Premier Newman,

· Thank you very much for arranging this breakfast meeting with economic leaders of Queensland.

· I am honoured and very encouraged by this large turnout.

· Congratulations to Queensland and Brisbane for hosting such a wonderful G20. For the past few days, you have shown what a world class city you are.

· Queensland`s economy has been performing well, on basis of your traditional strengths in areas like tourism, resources and agriculture, but also through your investments in areas of advanced technologies and services.

· This is a tribute to your leadership and to the government and business in Queensland.

· I am delighted to be here for a number of reasons.

· One, I have always placed great emphasis on relations between states, not just between national capitals.

· Premier Newman, you and your Government are doing a lot to pursue economic opportunities with India.

· You have sent a number of trade missions to India. Just this September, there was a Queensland-Gujarat Energy Roundtable in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat. And, I am naturally pleased that Queensland will be participating in Vibrant Gujarat in January 2015 to showcase your infrastructure capabilities.

· I know that you are not partial to Gujarat, but you are sending delegations to Kolkata and Delhi and elsewhere!

· The second reason is that today, India is your fourth largest export destination. For us, Queensland is emerging as a major investment destination.

· We welcome the efforts you have made to make it possible for an Australian Dollar 16 billion investment to take place in coal mining.

· It will set a new standard for India-Australia cooperation and demonstrate how Australia and Queensland can be a vital partner in meeting India`s requirement for energy and other vital resources.

· Queensland can be an important partner in India`s development – in energy, mineral resources, agriculture and food security, education and advanced technology in some areas.

· We have launched a major set of reforms to boost economic growth and improve the quality of life of people. We have set an ambitious agenda and a brisk pace.

· In the area of policy:

o We have eased foreign direct investment laws in key areas like railways, defence and insurance;

o We have set up a commission to reform railways, which has always been seen as a just another government department – this has never been done before.

o We have introduced labour reforms

o We have made big changes in our policies on fuel – coal, natural gas, diesel

· In the area of processes:

o changing the way we work as government. Good Governance is the starting point of change. It is as important to business as it is to ordinary citizens.

o eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, making processes easier and shorter, ensuring that our government is more transparent

o Focus on ease of doing business

o We are partnering with state governments and even going doing to districts and villages.

o Digital India Campaign

o Facilitation Cells have been set up.

· In terms of institutions

o set up a new department for skill development;

o set up a special authority for industrial corridors

o eBiz Portal for integrated application process – 24×7

o Closely monitoring implementation of decisions

o set up an Expenditure Reform Commission;

· In terms of Initiatives

o We have launched Make in India as a new mission to promote manufacturing in India.

o creating world class infrastructure

o 100 Smart cities; Metro projects for 50 cities; modern waste management system for 500 cities;

o affordable healthcare within everyone`s reach; sanitation for all by 2019; a roof over every head by 2022; electricity in every household;

o Clean Energy – with special focus on solar energy; energy efficiency

o Water conservation

o Clean Ganga Programme , which is also a major urban renewal and environment protection programme

· I see great opportunities for our cooperation. Let me highlight some of them.

· Coal is already a major item of exports to India; but, I see vast potential in resources in general, as Indian industrial sector gathers momentum and grows.

· We could also commence import of Liquified Natural Gas from Queensland.

· You are leaders in many areas of mining and mining technologies, services and equipment, mining consultancy, mine safety, coal washeries and mine management.

· I invite you to participate in India.

· We have made our policies transparent and predictable. We have made our procedures clearly defined and smooth.

· Queensland can also be a partner in strengthening India`s food security. We already import a fairly significant amount of fruits and vegetables and some quantities of fertilizer.

· What we need is an integrated partnership –joint research to improve yield and farm productivity to development of agriculture supply chain infrastructure and food processing. This is an area of great priority for my government.

· Infrastructure , where we aim to invest over a trillion dollars over the next five years.

· Queensland`s strengths in advanced areas of technology also offer enormous opportunities for collaboration such as biotechnology and your growing strengths in aviation sector

· We can develop strong synergies in the area of information and communication technology and its every growing application in all areas of life and business. I hope Indian IT companies will enjoy good access. Conversely, Digital India offers enormous opportunities.

· Queensland can take justifiable pride in its success in the tourism sector. Indian investors would be willing to partner with you, as more and more Indians are drawn to the incredible beauty and hospitality of your state.

· You can participate in India`s ambitious plans for smart, sustainable, habitable cities to cater to its growing urban population. It is expected that nearly 11% of the world`s urban population in 2025 will be in India.

· You can make India a manufacturing hub, for India, for exports and for import back into Australia.

· Let us foster closer cooperation in skill development and education; and, research and development. Your Universities and Research Institutions have already contributed significantly to the growing science and technology relationship between India and Australia.

· This is particularly true of the collaboration between the two countries under the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund.

· I know that most of you are aware of the opportunities in India and have looked at the market.

· You will begin to find a difference in India.

· There will no longer have to reach those opportunities through uncertain and unpredictable pathways, crossing hurdles along the way.

· You will not only be able to convert opportunities into partnerships, you will do it in an environment that is welcoming and easy to do business in.

· Let me conclude by saying, India-Australia relationship is comprehensive, involving economic cooperation, a growing security and strategic partnership and increasing cooperation in international forums, which are vital for peace, stability and prosperity in our region.

· I am keen to hear your views. I will make sure our team here follows up on them.

· I thank you all for coming here this morning and wish you a very productive day ahead. Thank you.

Queensland can be vital partner in India’s development: says Modi

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at the business breakfast hosted by the Premier of Queensland, Mr. Campbell Newman, in Brisbane, Australia on November 17, 2014.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi with the Australian cricketer Michael Kasprowicz at the business breakfast hosted by the Premier of Queensland, Mr. Campbell Newman, in Brisbane, Australia on November 17, 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met business leaders over breakfast here Monday and said that the Australian state of Queensland can be a vital partner in India’s development.

Speaking at the breakfast meeting organised by Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, Modi said he has always placed great emphasis on relations between states and not just between national capitals, according to a statement issued by the ministry of external affairs.

The prime minister noted the Queensland government’s role in fostering cooperation with India.

“You and your government are doing a lot to pursue economic opportunities with India,” Modi told Premier Newman.

“(In) September, there was a Queensland-Gujarat Energy Roundtable in Gandhinagar… I am naturally pleased that Queensland will be participating in the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ summit in 2015 to showcase its infrastructural capabilities,” Modi added.

He also noted that trade delegations from Queensland have been sent to other Indian cities like New Delhi and Kolkata as well.

“India is (Queensland’s) fourth largest export destination. For us, Queensland is emerging as a major investment destination,” Modi said at the meeting.

He welcomed the state’s efforts to invest for A$16 billion in coal mining, which he said, would “set a new standard for India-Australia cooperation”.

“(It will) demonstrate how Australia and (the state of ) Queensland can be a vital partner in meeting India’s requirement for energy and other vital resources,” Modi said.

The prime minister said that there were immense possibilities for cooperation between India and Queensland, not just in the area of coal, which is already a major item of exports to India, but also in resources in general, as the Indian industrial sector gathered momentum and grows.

“We could also commence the import of liquified natural gas from Queensland,” Modi said at the meeting.

The prime minister noted that Queensland is the leader in the areas of mining and mining technologies, services and equipment, mining consultancy, mine safety, coal washeries and mine management.

“Queensland’s economy has been performing well, on basis of (its) traditional strengths… like tourism, resources and agriculture, (and) also through… investments in areas of advanced technologies and services,” Modi said.

The prime minister noted that Queensland could be a partner in strengthening India’s food security, agriculture, education and advanced technology requirements.

“Indian investors would be willing to partner with (Queensland), as more and more Indians are drawn to the incredible beauty and hospitality of (this) state,” Modi said.

The prime minister spoke about launching the “Make in India” initiative to promote manufacturing in the country.

He encouraged businesses in Queensland to participate in India’s ambitious plan for smart, sustainable and habitable cities to cater to its growing urban population.

“It is expected that nearly 11 percent of the world’s urban population in 2025 will live in India,” Modi told the business leaders at the meeting.

“You can make India a manufacturing hub… and import back (to) Australia,” he said.

“We have launched a major set of reforms to boost economic growth and improve the quality of life of (the) people,” Modi added.

“You will begin to find a difference in India,” Modi told the business leaders and assured that there would no longer be uncertain and unpredictable pathways and hurdles for doing business in India.

PM Modi departs from Brisbane en route to Sydney

PM Narendra Modi arrives at Sidney

Modi receives boomerang from aboriginal dancers

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday received a boomerang as a present during a traditional welcome by aboriginal dance performers as he touched down in this Australian city.

Modi termed the welcome “amazing”.

Modi, who arrived here from Brisbane, watched the aboriginal dance performance at his hotel.

Later the dancers presented him with a boomerang.

“Amazing welcome in Sydney. Glad to be here,” he tweeted.

Modi also spoke to the dancers.

He is to address thousands of the Indian diaspora at the Allphones Arena which is all geared up to welcome him.

Indian diaspora in Australia keyed up for Modi event

Around 20,000 members of the Indian diaspora are expected to be present at a community reception being organised in honour of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday evening.

The organisers are also setting up big screens outside this iconic sporting venue which would enable about 5,000 additional Indian Australians to watch Modi’s speech. With few hours to go before the mega reception being hosted in Allphones Arena at Olympic Park, the Indian expatriate community seems to be truly in the grip of a Modi mania.

“I am so excited over attending Modiji’s function that I did not sleep last night,” Narinder Sharma, owner of a cab company, told IANS.

The excitement over the Sydney function is not restricted to Australia’s largest city only. A chartered train dubbed “Modi Express” departed from Melbourne Sunday night for Sydney with 500 “Modi bhagats”. A large number of enthusiasts have missed the train literally as the number of the seats was restricted.

“I am really disappointed as I could not get a seat on the train for the Sydney reception of the Indian PM,” says Ranjan Singh Rana while speaking to IANS from Melbourne. “I wish more tickets were given to the Melbournians,” he adds.

The number of those flying to attend the Sydney reception from Melbourne and other distant Australian cities would easily run into three figures.

Sydney may be organising the biggest overseas reception for Modi but it would not be the first reception Down Under as Modi has already been received by a euphoric expat gathering when he unveiled Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Brisbane Sunday.

But it is the Sydney event which is attracting even the Australian mainstream media’s attention because of the sheer size of the audience. No overseas politician has ever received such a rockstar-like reception in Australia in the living memory.

The organisers, the Indian Australian Community Foundation (IACF), are confident that they would host a reception which would be bigger than the one organised at New York’s Madison Square.

While the excitement over the Allphones event is definitely palpable, a section of the diaspora is not happy over the way Modi’s reception is being organised. This list of dissenters includes some members of the Indian Australian Sikh community.

“We have been really disappointed by the organisers as they did not send us an invitation to register for the reception for Narendra Modi,” an anguished secretary of Sikh Council of Australia Bawa Singh Jagdev told IANS.

“Even though the invitation was extended to us when we questioned the organisers, we have decided not to attend the event as an organisation. Some members of our community would be attending the event to honour the guest of Australia but they would do so in their individual capacity,” Jagdev says.

Sikh Council of Australia has however disassociated itself from any public protest against the Indian prime minister.

“Nothing is achieved by such protests,” says Jagdev while asserting that his organisation would give a petition to Modi through the Indian diplomatic mission.

His sentiment is shared by Melbournian car dealer Narinder Singh who says: “Instead of staging protests against Narendra Modi, we should seek solution by sitting across the table.”

There are a number of other so-called community leaders who have expressed dissatisfaction against the organisers in the media but, as pointed out by some senior diaspora figures, their protest is because they were not invited to event.

Narendra Modi arrives at Allphones Arena

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Allphones Arena, with New South Wales premier Mike Baird

Live video from Allphones Arena, Sidney

PM’s address to Indian community at Allphones Arena, Sydney

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today called upon Indians across the world to convert the atmosphere of hope and optimism into a reality of meeting the expectations and aspirations of India`s people. Addressing the Indian community at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, the Prime Minister said that on the basis of his experience of the last six months, he could see no reason why the aspirations of millions of Indians could not be fulfilled. He referred to Swami Vivekananda`s dream of seeing Mother India as a Vishva Guru once again, and said he believed that dream would be a reality. Do you share the dream, he asked thousands of cheering people in the arena.

The Prime Minister said that he feels a greater sense of responsibility as he is the first Prime Minister born in independent India. “We did not have the fortune to fight for the country`s independence. We could not die for India. But we can live for India. So we will live and struggle for India. Today 125 crore Indians share that dream,” he said.

“It took 28 years for an Indian PM to make the few hours journey to Australia. Now you will not have to wait 28 years,” the Prime Minister said, referring to the shared values of democracy, and the love for cricket that India and Australia share. The Prime Minister exhorted people to recognize the strength of India`s democracy. “Let us now do all we can for India`s benefit. And then India will work for the benefit of mankind,” he said.

The Prime Minister congratulated and complimented the Indian Australian community for working hard and making their karmbhoomi proud. He named prominent Indian-Australians who had excelled for Australia in sports and academics.

The Prime Minister mentioned the work his Government was doing and the new policies and schemes his Government had launched including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the Make in India initiative, Swachh Bharat and Shramev Jayate. The Prime Minister talked about the decision to allow 100% FDI in Railways.

He said he wanted to do humble things for humble people to make a great improvement in their lives. He spoke of the need to improve access to clean water, electricity and sanitation, inviting the Indian-Australian community to give back to the Motherland in whatever way they could. He spoke of his vision for skill development, and India meeting the skilled manpower requirement of the whole world.

“Governments cannot make a country. People make a country,” the Prime Minister said. He spoke of his initiative to abolish needless laws and his push for self-certification of documents.

The Prime Minister said the differences between OCI and PIO schemes would be ended by January 2015. The Sydney Cultural Center would be established by the Government of India and made functional by February 2015.

Narendra Modi arrives at Cabnerra, he was welcomed by Foreign Minister here

Narendra Modi arrives at hotel in Canberra