'Matter of regret': Modi raises temple vandalism with Australian Premier

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, March 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday raised concern over a spate of attacks on Hindu temples in Australia, drawing a promise from his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese that the safety of the Indian community would be a special priority for him.

The defacing of three Hindu temples in January came after protests by Khalistani supporters seeking a breakaway state in India. The Indian Government opposes the secession movement and has asked Australia in the past to crack down on them.

“It is a matter of regret that reports of attacks on temples have come regularly from Australia over the past few weeks. It is natural that such news worries everyone in India and disturbs us. I conveyed these feelings and concerns to Prime Minister Albanese and he has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is of special priority for him. Our teams will be in regular contact on this matter and will cooperate as much as possible,” he PM Modi.

Albanese’s visit had started on right diplomatic notes. On Wednesday, Albanese played Holi in Ahmedabad and spent part of Thursday watching cricket with PM Modi. However, no decisions were taken on strategic minerals at the end of their talks here on Friday.

The two sides also inked four agreements on sports, innovation, audio-visual production and solar power.

PM Modi said bilateral security cooperation was an important pillar of the India-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. “Today, we discussed maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region and enhancing mutual defence and security cooperation,” he said.

“In the field of defence, we have made remarkable agreements, including logistics support for each other’s militaries. There is also regular and useful exchange of information between our security agencies, and we discussed further strengthening this,” he said.

In his media statement, Albanese said both sides were hopeful of signing a full FTA by year-end. Albanese said he looked forward to hosting PM Modi in Australia for the Quad leaders’ summit in May and then returning to India in September for the G20 summit.

“I am proud of the existing cooperation on solar and hydrogen and the opportunities for us to work more closely to secure critical mineral supply chains,” said Albanese.