ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much. This is the beginning of a new day on what has been an exceptionally successful visit up to this point. I'm sure that today will reinforce that successful building of relationships between Australia and India. We've got a busy program today. We begin with a ceremonial welcome from Prime Minister Modi. I do thank him for the personal way in which he has engaged with me so far on this visit. And today we will be spending most of the day together and I thank him for giving me the honour of a ceremonial welcome here to New Delhi. We will then go on to lay a wreath at Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and that will be a very solemn occasion. It will be my privilege to represent Australia at that, to pay tribute to one of the giants of the 20th century. I then have a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Dr Jaishankar. I welcomed him a couple of weeks ago at Kirribilli House, we have developed a strong relationship, as he has with our Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and it will be the fifth or sixth meeting I've had with Dr Jaishankar since I've become the Prime Minister. We then will go to the one-on-one meeting between myself and Prime Minister Modi before the formal Australia-India Leadership Dialogue that will take place, along with some other representatives from our respective governments. There will then be a lunch that will include representatives of the business community who are here. CEOs of major Australian companies have come to India in recognition of how important the relationship is. This is a country of 1.4 billion people - that's a large market. When we look at the opportunities which are there, the Australian business community certainly recognises that and it is good that we're having lunch in which business people from both sides are able to participate to help build those relationships. This afternoon I'll give an address to the Indian Institute of Technology. That's a major think-tank and major institution here in India and that will be a great privilege for me. I'll be outlining the way forward for our relationship and how we build stronger economic ties, and in particular how we take advantage of our respective governments' move towards clean energy economies and the opportunities that presents. The opportunities as well in the information technology, in taking advantage of our respective comparative advantages that we have as complementary but different economies going forward. This afternoon, after that, I will have a courtesy call on the President of India, and I thank her for that. And then we'll conclude what is a long day with a reception at the Australian High Commission which will include the business representatives who have travelled to India to be a part of this week's relationship building exercise. I expect today to sign agreements with Prime Minister Modi around the three themes of this visit and the three themes in which we're building relations. Firstly, cultural ties, we saw yesterday the cultural expression through sport, but there are many other ways as well. I must say I hope the Australian Cricket Team continue to do well today, and congratulations to Uzzie on that fine unbeaten century yesterday, and Cameron Green begins the day on 49 not out, quite an amazing achievement for someone who is very new to these conditions here in India. But there are other areas as well, including arts and culture, and we'll have more to say about that after the dialogue takes place today. In economic areas, we will also have agreements including in clean energy. We think, in particular in solar, there's enormous opportunities. On solar, I spoke to one of the major Indian companies here yesterday who are looking at billions of dollars of investment in Australia, including the manufacturing of solar panels, something we've been talking about, something we want to promote through the National Reconstruction Fund. I want a future made in Australia. The third element is national security. Yesterday I had the great privilege of being on the first ever aircraft carrier built here in India. Those relations between Australia and India are very important. We'll host the Malabar exercises later this year and we'll have more to say about that.
JOURNALIST: On that aircraft carrier yesterday, it's based on a Russian design, there were three Russian MiGs, fighter jets. It goes to the point of India's relationship over many years with Russia and the position on Ukraine, but I guess more broadly, about their view of the world as a non-alignment country. What reassurance or belief do you have they would be part of any action if push comes to shove alongside other allies?
PRIME MINISTER: Well India of course is a sovereign nation. And they develop their relationships with other nations as they see fit. What's important is how we deal, as a sovereign nation, with friends in our neighbourhood. And India is a friend of Australia. We have an increasingly important relationship which goes to our economic ties, our cultural ties, but also our ties through exercises like the Malabar exercises that will take place later this year. As part of the announcements as well, we've had the participation of Australian defence personnel here in India, and exchange the other way around as well. That builds on the people-to-people relations that we have with India. India is an important democracy. India stands up for democracy. And I think that the relationship is a very positive one.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, thank you. Just on that, you say and you have said throughout this trip a few times, that we share the same democratic values as India. Recently the BBC offices were raided both here in Delhi and Mumbai after a documentary that was critical of Prime Minister Modi. Are you concerned about a lack of press freedom in this country, and will you be bringing that up in that bilateral today?
PRIME MINISTER: Penny Wong commented on that when she was here as Foreign Minister last week. What I do, in dealing diplomatically with people I have relationships with, is I have discussions based upon Australia's values and I'm consistent about that. Australia stands up for press freedom. But India is a great democracy. And to dismiss that is, I think wrong. India has been and continues to be a democratic nation. And we will, where there's differences or issues to be raised, we raise them privately and appropriately.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you haven't made the announcement yet on the AUKUS subs project. But China is already calling on Australia, the US and Britain to 'end the Cold War mentality.' I wonder how you explain this project to Beijing? And having declared that India is a top-tier partner to Australia, what tier is China?
PRIME MINISTER: What I say is that we are investing in capability, as we should, but we're also investing in relationships, as we are. It is not a contradictory position. It's a consistent position. We need to ensure that Australia's defence assets are the best they can be and that we build our capability. At the same time, we need to build relationships. That's what I've been doing. I've been doing that here in India. We're doing that throughout the Indo-Pacific. We've done that as well, improved our relationship with China, in recent times as well.
JOURNALIST: Will the costs associated with acquiring and making nuclear submarines and the associated costs of the Defence Strategic Review mean Australia has to ramp up its defence spending?
PRIME MINISTER: I said consistently that we will need a minimum of 2 per cent of GDP, but I expect that defence spending will increase. We've been saying that consistently. And when people have had rather extraordinary headlines from time to time about small increases in revenue, they need to bear that in mind. We need to make sure that we invest more in our defence. You don't just pluck a figure out in order to get a headline in a newspaper. We'll invest in what is needed. I said that in the Lowy Institute speech I gave prior to the election and I've said it ever since.
JOURNALIST: On the trade front, you mentioned just then you spoke with an Indian company looking to invest billions in Australia. I have heard from businesses who were saying that it was relatively easier for Indian companies to invest in Australia but there's a lot of internal barriers in the other direction. I know you're hoping to accelerate progress on the comprehensive trade deal with India during your talks today. What assurances will you be seeking those informal barriers will shift so the trade deal that's on paper can be utilised?
PRIME MINISTER: We want to move from the ECTA that's been agreed and went through our processes, came into being last December, to the CECA, the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement. What that will mean is that we ensure that there's a smoother flow of economic activity between our two nations. The businesses who are here aren't here because, although this is a wonderful country to visit, but they're working. They're here because they see an economic interest in their companies expanding influence here. Companies like the Commonwealth Bank, talking about 500 people working at Barangaroo. A range of businesses will be investing, that's why they're here.
JOURNALIST: Going back to Kieran's question at the beginning on security with India, we're co-operating with them on the Malabar exercises. They're going to be part of Talisman Sabre. You were on an aircraft carrier yesterday. They're part of the Quad, which is a dialogue, not a particular agreement or alliance. Do you see a day when Australia could then deepen its relationship? That seems to be what Prime Minister Modi wants. Does that mean something like a defence agreement that is more formal on defence and security, bilaterally, between Australia and India?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, what we're doing is building up our relations between our two nations. And these issues, I think, should be viewed on their merits rather than down the track. That's how you build confidence, as well, in each other. I now have met with Prime Minister Modi four times, more than four meetings, but on four separate occasions, in the first year of my Prime Ministership. I will welcome Prime Minister Modi to Australia in the first half of this year for the Quad Leaders Meeting. I'll be back here in September for the G20 and then Prime Minister Modi has also invited me yesterday to undertake another bilateral visit to other regions in India at the end of the year.
JOURNALIST: On the issue of Russia and Ukraine, analysts say that India is probably best placed of all countries in the world to possibly help broker some sort of a solution because of its links to Russia, but also with the West. Do you share that assessment? And what will your message be to Prime Minister Modi on that?
JOURNALIST: How soon after the announcement on Monday, how soon will that agreement actually be activated? Will we start to see money in the Budget from May for AUKUS programs? Because we haven't seen that yet.
JOURNALIST: How optimistic should we be for a timeline for the next level of our trade agreement with India? Is progress moving now?
PRIME MINISTER: On Ukraine, our position on Ukraine is very clear and very consistent. And we raise it privately in the same way we raise it publicly. The struggle of the people of Ukraine is a struggle for the international rule of law, and for sovereign states to be able to exist within their boundaries without seeing a brutal, illegal invasion like what we've seen from Russia. We continue to have that position. On the Budget, I don't want you to have nothing to do and put your feet up between now and the Budget. So we've made a range of announcements, so out of my concern for you, I would say that wait until you see what's in the Budget. But we've made it very clear when we speak about the pressures on the Budget, that one of the areas is defence. So, I say to the Coalition that seem to oppose everything, as well, I'll have more to say about that - almost straight into domestic issues, but this does have to be paid for. The defence of our country is a solemn responsibility of government and it is one that I take seriously. This is an investment in our security and we will do what is necessary to keep our country secure. On the progress on the economy, I see that that will move very quickly. I would like to see the comprehensive agreement agreed, in principle at least, by the end of this year. And it is something that I'm pursuing. It's something that has, I think, been assisted. I want to thank the businesses, be they the 34 businesses in clean energy or the 27 CEOs and university leaders and other leaders of institutions who have travelled here as well. That is sending a big, big message to India that we believe that India matters, and that we want to build the relationship.