New Delhi: In his seventh trip abroad, Narendra Modi visited Australia, which was the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 28 years. In his three-day visit from November 16-18, 2014, Modi attended the G-20 Summit which took place on November 15 and 16 in Brisbane followed by a state visit to Australia during which he also addressed the Australian Parliament.
During his stay in Australia, Modi held talks with his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott in Canberra. This was the second meeting between the two leaders after Abbott visited India in October.
On November 17, Modi addressed 16,000 members of the Indian community at Allphones Arena in Olympic Park, Sydney, and on the very next day he addressed the Australian Parliament which was followed by a dinner reception hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the iconic 161-year-old Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Modi, who became the first Indian Prime Minister to address the Australian Parliament, also called for deepening bilateral security cooperation with Australia to tackle the global menace of terrorism.
When Tony Abbott visited India in September 2014, he sealed a civil nuclear deal to sell uranium to India and also offered to increase supplies of conventional fuel to help it overcome chronic shortages. "We signed a nuclear cooperation agreement because Australia trusts India to do the right thing in this area, as it has been doing in other areas," Abbott said after he and Modi signed a safeguards pact to sell uranium for peaceful power generation.
The nuclear deal is a further step toward India achieving international acceptability for its nuclear programme despite not ratifying the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and follows similar agreements with the United States and France.
Fiji
Modi visited Fiji on November 19, 2014 aiming to increasing cooperation in the south pacific region. Modi is the first Indian premier to visit the Pacific country after Indira Gandhi who had come here in 1981.
Modi held talks with his Fijian counterpart Frank Bainimarama and also announced a slew of Lines of Credit and development aid totalling $80 million for the country. He also announced $1 million Special Adaptation Fund for the Pacific nations and a proposal to develop Pan Pacific Islands Project for tele-medicine and tele-education.
Modi addressed Fijian parliament, the first by a foreign leader, after parliamentary elections, during which he said that India was prepared to build a "Digital Fiji".
Modi also attended 'Forum for India-Pacific Island cooperation' where he met leaders from Pacific Island nations.
Noting the inconvenience in travel due to Visa issues, Modi announced visa on arrival facility for all the 14 Pacific Island countries and hoped that it will facilitate exchanges and promote better understanding between the peoples.
Seychelles
Narendra Modi arrived in Seychelles' capital on March 11, observing that strong relations with Indian Ocean island countries were "vital" for India's security and progress.
Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to travel to Seychelles in 33 years, said his visit to the three Indian Ocean island countries "reflects our foreign policy priorities in India's immediate and extended neighbourhood".
Cementing its strategic partnership with Seychelles, India signed four agreements with the Indian Ocean island nation to boost security and maritime partnership. The agreements were cooperation in hydrography, renewable energy, infrastructure development and sale of navigation charts and electronic navigational charts.
Modi held talks with Seychelles President James Alix Michel and said Seychelles "is a vital partner in our Indian Ocean neighbourhood". "Short it may be, but this visit has been very productive. It is no surprise that Seychelles is my first destination in the Indian Ocean Region," Modi said.
Modi announced that India will give a second Dronier aircraft to the country. He also launched the Coastal Surveillance Radar Project, describing it as another symbol of the cooperation between the two countries.
Modi also announced that India would grant free visas for three months to the citizens of Seychelles.
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