CNN
 — 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese heaped reward on Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, likening him to American rock star Bruce Springsteen in a gushing introductory speech at a stadium on Tuesday.

Modi is making his first go to to Sydney in 9 years as he gears as much as contest nationwide elections subsequent yr – and as Australia seems to be to construct financial bridges with the world’s most populous market at a time when relations with one other Asian big, China, have soured.

Standing on stage on the Qudos Bank Arena on Tuesday, a sprawling leisure venue within the metropolis’s Olympic Park, Albanese performed emcee and heat up act.

“The last time I saw someone on the stage here was Bruce Springsteen, and he didn’t get the welcome that Prime Minister Modi has got,” Albanese stated.

“You have brought the spirit of the world’s biggest democracy to Australia,” Albanese stated of his “dear friend,” including the Indian chief has helped strengthen Australia’s democracy.

“Prime Minister Modi is the boss!” he added, to thunderous applause from a crowd dominated by Australia’s Indian diaspora.

Originally deliberate as a summit for leaders from the Quad, which incorporates the United States and Japan, Modi’s journey to Australia comes as Canberra is attempting to bolster its relationship with New Delhi in a bid to develop financial ties and reinforce their strategic partnership, because the West makes an attempt to thwart the rise of an more and more assertive China.

“In the language of cricket, our ties have entered the T20 mode,” Modi stated throughout a joint look with Albanese. “Our democratic values are the foundation of our ties. Our relations are based on mutual trust and respect. The Indian community in Australia is a living bridge between our countries.”

Modi additionally met with a number of “prominent Australian personalities,” based on an announcement from the Indian authorities, together with worldwide chef Sarah Todd and Australian singer Guy Sebastian.

In a collection of movies printed to Modi’s Twitter account, a number of of those personalities have been filmed praising the chief.

“He was so warm and so kind,” Sebastian said of their interplay.

His heat welcome is symbolic of his immense public attraction amongst many Indians residing abroad, in addition to his emergence as a key participant within the international order.

But the chief and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have additionally come beneath growing scrutiny for a clampdown on free speech and discriminatory insurance policies towards minority teams within the secular democracy of 1.4 billion, one thing Western leaders not often handle publicly when Modi visits.

When requested by reporters whether or not Albanese will press Modi on a few of these points, the Australian chief skirted the problem, saying he had a “respectful” relationship together with his Indian counterpart.

“India is, of course, the world’s largest democracy. Here in Australia, of course, people have a right to express their views in a peaceful way, and people, we all have different views about people in politics,” Albanese stated. “Australia, of course, always stands up for human rights, wherever it occurs anywhere in the world.”

India has additionally repeatedly abstained from votes condemning Russia on the United Nations, as a substitute reiterating a necessity for “diplomacy and dialogue,” whereas shopping for up big quantities of Moscow’s oil regardless of western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Albanese stated he revered that India “is responsible for its own international relations” and acknowledged the South Asian nation’s historical past of non-alignment.

“India is a great supporter of peace and security and stability in our region,” he stated.

Modi’s Australia go to caps a busy week of diplomatic exercise and journey.

Over the weekend, he was in Papua New Guinea, the place he met with Prime Minister James Marape and pledged his help for the Pacific Islands.

Days earlier Modi had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan – the primary time they’d come face-to-face since Russia’s invasion started.

And subsequent month, US President Joe Biden will host Modi on the White House.

Modi’s diplomatic flurry is available in a pivotal yr for the chief.

India has assumed the Group of 20 (G20) presidency this yr, taking part in host to a collection of essential occasions within the nation, whereas advertising itself as a pacesetter of the Global South. Modi can also be gearing up for an election yr in 2024, in search of to safe a momentous second decade in energy.

And whereas India grows more and more near the West and its allies, critics have accused Western leaders of turning a blind eye to a few of New Delhi’s alleged human rights abuses taking part in out at dwelling.

Earlier this yr, India banned a BBC documentary crucial of Modi’s alleged position within the lethal 2002 Gujarat riots, by which greater than 1,000 folks – largely Muslims – have been killed, in a transfer lambasted by free speech advocates.

In March, Rahul Gandhi, the previous chief of India’s principal opposition political social gathering and one of many few figures that has the type of star energy and identify recognition wanted to problem Modi, was stripped of his lawmaker status after he was handed a two-year jail sentence for defamation.

Critics of the BJP and Gandhi’s supporters say the case is politically motivated.

Earlier this month, Modi’s social gathering lost its only stronghold within the nation’s south after Karnataka state voted in favor of Gandhi’s Congress Party.

Correction: An earlier model of this text referred to Sydney as Australia’s capital. Canberra is the capital.