India-Australia friendship 10 out of 10; PM Modi an inspiring leader: Former Australia PM Malcolm Turnbull
The Hindu
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rated the Australia-India friendship 10 out of 10 and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi an inspiring leader who is “making a huge difference”.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rated the Australia-India friendship 10 out of 10 and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi an inspiring leader who is "making a huge difference".
The bonhomie between the two leaders was visible in the many photos from Mr. Turnbull's first visit to India in 2017. He has retired since and is currently touring India with his wife. Mr. Turnbull, who is one of the speakers at the ongoing 17th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), recalled his "lovely visit" to India in 2017 and the time spent with PM Modi.
"I had a lovely visit here. I have seen him [Modi] in Japan recently at the funeral of our old friend Shinzo Abe... I enjoyed Mr. Modi's company enormously. I know he is controversial in his own country naturally. But from the outside, an inspiring leader and clearly making a huge difference," Mr. Turnbull told PTI.
The 29th Australian Prime Minister said the two countries have got many things in common — the love for cricket, rule of law and democracy — and their friendship is "ten out of ten". The only problem, he said, is "we don't do enough trade".
This issue, according to Mr. Turnbull, who is also an established businessman, was part of the conversation between him and PM Modi too.
"When we first met, Mr. Modi said 'you have done a lot of international business in your life, you have done a lot of business with China, why have you done very little with India?'. I said, 'Truthfully, India is too hard to do business in as a foreign investor and he acknowledged that," Mr. Turnbull recalled.
“It is “crazy” that China, a communist country, was an easier place to invest than India which is a democracy,” he said. Though he did not criticise India's "strong protectionist tradition", which the 69-year-old believes is something that every country manages in their own way, Mr. Turnbull admitted that Australia would like to have fewer trade barriers between the two countries.