Australian PM Anthony Albanese to visit India from March 8-11

Anthony Albanese, Labor Party leader. REUTERS/File Photo

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will pay a four-day visit to India from March 8 with an aim to boost overall bilateral engagement in a range of areas including trade, investment and critical minerals.

It will be his first visit to India after becoming the prime minister in May last year.

"At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese will pay a State Visit to India from March 8 to 11," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

Albanese will be accompanied by Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell and  Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Madeleine King besides a high-level business delegation.? The MEA said Albanese will arrive in Ahmedabad on March 8 on the day of Holi.

He will visit Mumbai on March 9 before arriving in Delhi later in the day.

The Australian prime minister will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan on March 10.

Following this, Modi and Albanese will hold the annual summit to discuss areas of cooperation under the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership besides regional and global issues of mutual interest.  The ties between ?India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years.

The strategic partnership between the two countries was elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in June 2020. "Prime Minister Albanese's visit is expected to provide further momentum to the comprehensive strategic partnership," the MEA said in a statement.