Modi’s Melbourne Visit Puts India Australia Ties in Focus

by Pooja Bhardwaj July 8, 2026

By Pooja Bhardwaj July 8, 2026 0 comments 3 minutes read

Prime Minister Narendra Modi walking down the red carpet flanked by a guard of honor after arriving in Melbourne on July 8, 2026. PHOTO: X@narendramodi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Melbourne on July 8, beginning a three-day visit to Australia that will culminate in a sold-out community reception at Marvel Stadium and the third Australia India Annual Leaders’ Summit.

He was welcomed at the airport with a guard of honor, with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, Federal Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil, and India’s High Commissioner to Australia, Nagesh Singh, among those present.

After the airport reception, Modi arrived at the Park Hyatt Melbourne, where members of the Indian diaspora had gathered inside to welcome him. Attendees presented cultural performances and chanted “Vande Mataram,” “Bharat Mata ki Jai,” and “Modi, Modi” as he arrived. The Australian Indian Orchestra performed a rendition of “Vande Mataram” as part of the welcome.

Singh, speaking to media before Modi’s arrival, said the scale of expected diaspora engagement reflects something broader than sentiment alone, describing it as underscoring “the importance we attach to the bond which the one-million-strong Indian diaspora provides between our two countries,” and calling it a pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Australia.

That welcome is expected to be followed by July 9^thevening’s community reception at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct, where Modi and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are scheduled to address a crowd of close to 30,000 people. The event, organized by the Australia India Foundation with the support of Australian-based Welcome Partner Organizations and local volunteers, has sold out.

**Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving warm welcome from the community members after his arrival. PHOTO: X@narendramodi**

Pranav Aggarwal, a spokesperson for the Australia India Foundation, said, “It’s a phenomenal location. It’s a momentous occasion” for Australians of Indian descent as well as the broader Australian public.

Aggarwal said an estimated 300 million people, about twenty times Australia’s population, are expected to watch live on television as Modi and Albanese speak.

On Friday, July 10, is expected to bring further developments in the visit, including a joint program at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Singh said both countries are looking to expand sports cooperation beyond cricket, pointing to “Australia’s expertise in sports medicine, sports science, sports technology, sports management and sports infrastructure.” He said the two countries are looking to build a partnership that goes beyond the exchange of teams to cover the wider sporting ecosystem, noting that Australia is set to host the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane and the 2030 Commonwealth Games, while India is preparing a bid to host the Olympics in 2036.

Modi is in Melbourne for the third Australia India Annual Leaders’ Summit. Singh said India and Australia are connected through shared objectives on peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, the region spanning the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and said the fact the two leaders meet annually reflects how important the relationship is to both countries.

He added that the two leaders would review the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the framework agreement covering defense, trade, education, energy and other areas of cooperation, signed in 2020.

It is Modi’s third visit to Australia as prime minister and his first trip to Melbourne in twelve years, following earlier visits in 2014 and 2023. In earlier remarks, Singh said bilateral trade has grown to more than $50 billion since the signing of the India Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in 2022, though he said “the scope is much more” than what has been achieved so far.