India-Australia Summit: PM Modi Calls on Early Conclusion of CECA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for early closure of the 'Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)' for the economic security of India and Australia.

Speaking at the second India-Australia Virtual Summit, Modi said, "Our (India-Australia) collaboration has grown rapidly in areas such as critical minerals, water management, renewable energy, and Covid-19 research."

During his address, Prime Minister Modi underscored that India and Australia have made remarkable progress in their ties in the last few years.

Modi said, "Trade and investment, defence and security, education and innovation, science and technology - we have very close cooperation in all these areas.”

Prime Minister also thanked his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, for the initiative to return the ancient Indian artefacts which he inspected ahead of the virtual summit.

This virtual meeting comes as the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has maintained the momentum of an upward graph.

On the other hand, Morrison talked about the threat of increasing change in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

The Summit follows the historic first Virtual Summit in June 2020 when the relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During the upcoming virtual summit, the leaders are expected to take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

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