New Delhi: Lauding the ties between India and Australia, Victoria's Premier Jacinta Allan has called the relationship between the two nations "incredibly strong one." She stressed that India and Australia share a lot in common in terms of values.

In an interview with ANI, Allan called education an incredibly important part of community and economy in Victoria and expressed pride to welcome the largest number of Indian international students to study in educational institutions in Victoria and Melbourne.

Highlighting the ties between two nations, she said, "Relationship between India and Australia is an incredibly strong one and as the premiere of the State of Victoria in Australia, we are proud to call the most number of Indian-born Australian residents home, they live in Victoria and what that provides us with this incredibly strong foundation to come and strengthen the economic and cultural ties between our two nations. We have a lot in common in terms of values but also our priority growth areas in terms of renewable energy and building more homes and building better transport connections to support ongoing growth in both of our communities."

Allan said that she wants to explore the opportunity for Victorian education institutions to partner with Indian institutions to deliver education in India.

Speaking about the ties between two nations in education sector, Victoria's Premier said, "Education is an incredibly important part of our community and economy in Victoria in the state of Australia and we are proud to welcome the most number of international students and the most number of Indian international students to study in our great Victorian and Melbourne-based international education institutions and my message during my visit here is to continue to say very strongly that international students continue to be very welcome in our community, a very important part of our business and our relationships and our culture."

"But we want to also explore the opportunity for Victorian education institutions to partner here in India with Indian institutions to deliver education here," she added.

She also spokeabout choosing India as the first country for her first overseas visit after taking over as Victoria's Premier. Allan recalled her past visit to India, which she undertook 15 years ago.

"This is my first overseas visit as Premier of Victoria but it is not my first time to India. I had the great pleasure of visiting here 15 years ago when we launched our first India Strategy as our priority for the Government and it remains a priority for me because we have so much in common, so much in common in terms of values, focus on hard work and families and building for the future that we have that foundation that we can grow in terms of the focus that we have into the future on those priority areas that support jobs and business development, health and education," Allan said.

She recalled Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to India in 2023. She said that Australia shares a "strong relationship" with the Indian government.

Underscoring the "strong" ties between governments of two nations, Allan said, "There is a strong bond I know between the Australian and Indian Governments and I know the Australian Prime Minister was very pleased to visit India last year as part of the Quad meetings and had the opportunity to visit that amazing Modi Stadium that has been constructed and we have such strong relationships with India and with the Indian Government and again that underpins those opportunities for the future that are really important to both governments.

Earlier in March 2023, Australian PM Anthony Albanese visited the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to watch the first day of the final Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. PM Modi welcomed his Australian counterpart at the venue. Both the leaders were greeted with loud cheers as they did a lap of honour at the stadium prior to the match.

Asked on how she sees India-Australia cooperation in terms of economy, Allan said, "If you look at the growth areas of India's economy or Australia and our economy in Victoria, they are centered around very similar areas around continuing to drive investment in renewable energy, the building of more homes, the investment in transport connections and what underpins all of that is the delivery of good strong education, whether it's from Indian education providers or Victorian education providers that partner with Indian education institutions, and that has been a key part of my visit here this week is how we can strengthen those relationships, invest in those relationships between our education providers to support those economic opportunities into the future."

She also said that her visit is particularly focused on connecting with women in India and speaking to them about the opportunities that strengthening education, partnerships and providing more economic opportunities for women strengthens the nation as a whole.

Speaking about her visit to India, Victoria's Premier said, "There is so much that is special about India. What particularly has been a particular focus of my visit is connecting with women in the Indian community and talking with women about the opportunities that strengthening education, strengthening partnerships, providing more economic opportunities for women strengthens the nation as a whole. That is certainly the experience that we have in Victoria and Australia and I am really excited about the opportunity to meet over the course of my visit more women here in India because it also mirrors the conversations I have with women back home in Victoria."

"We all share the same thing. We want the best for our kids. We want a strong, safe community. We want to get great education outcomes and that's been a part of the conversations I've been having with women here in India," she added.

Jacinta Allan is Victoria's 49th Premier, the longest serving female minister in Australia's history and longest serving Labour Minister. This is her first overseas visit as Premier of Victoria.

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