PM Narendra Modi to visit Australia next week despite cancellation of Quad meet, says Australian PM

On Wednesday,  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will still travel to Australia next week despite the cancellation of the Quad leaders' meeting in Sydney. He also said that he is looking forward to welcoming him to the country. 

PM Albanese said this while responding to a question on whether Prime Minister Modi will still come to Sydney after Albanese cancelled the Quad leaders' meeting in Sydney on May 24 as US President Joe Biden postponed his visit to Australia to focus on crucial debt-ceiling talks to prevent a catastrophic federal default, reported the news agency PTI.

Anthony Albanese, Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Joe Biden were supposed to attend the Quad Leaders' Summit.

"Prime Minister Modi will be here next week for a bilateral meeting with myself," Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio in Brisbane.

Prime Minister Modi will also have business meetings and will hold a very public event at Homebush at the Olympic site in Sydney, he said.

"He will also be engaging with Australian-India business relations ... I look forward to welcoming him to Sydney," Albanese said.

But he indicated Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would cancel his visit in the wake of Joe Biden's announcement.

Albanese said, "Prime Minister Kishida ... was just coming for the Quad meeting. There wasn't a separate bilateral programme.”

Earlier in the day, Albanese said that Prime Minister Modi would certainly be a very welcome guest in Australia next week despite the cancellation of the Quad meeting, reported PTI.

(With PTI inputs)