Delhi: Australia's 450,000-strong Indian community are planning a rock-star welcome for new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he makes his first visit to Australia next month.
In addition to attending the G20 conference in Brisbane, Mr Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to address a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament in Canberra.
Mr Modi - the first Indian prime minister to visit Australia since Rajiv Gandhi came in 1986 for a bilateral summit with then Australian prime minister Bob Hawke - is also expected to address Parliament in Hindi.
Later, more than 20,000 members of the Indian diaspora are expected to attend a public event at the Allphones Arena at Sydney's Olympic Park that local organisers hope will match the colour and enthusiasm that greeted Mr Modi at a similar event at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
"Indian-Australians have been waiting for this proud moment for the last 28 years and it could not get any better when our most beloved leader Narendra Modi-ji will address us," said Nihal Agar, chairman of the Indian Australian Community Foundation (IACF).
"Within three days of opening registration, over 250 community organisations have registered to be a 'reception partner' for the [Sydney] event," Dr Agar said. "In many other ways, it will be bigger than the Madison Square event of the US."
Balesh Singh Dhankhar, another IACF spokesman, added that " the Indian community in Australia wishes to send a very important message by showing that we are all united and can come together for such a grand and positive event".
In addition to the event in Sydney, Prime Minister Tony Abbott will host a banquet for Mr Modi in Melbourne.
It will be the second time in three months that the leaders of India and Australia have met, after Mr Abbott was the first foreign leader to be received in India by Mr Modi for bilateral talks.
With Australia and India already agreeing the terms of a deal that will allow Australia to export uranium to India to help meet India's growing demand for power generation, Trade Minister Andrew Robb will lead a business delegation to India in January to boost commercial ties.
The "Australia Business Week in India" will be the largest event of its kind undertaken by Australia in India and follows the success of Australia Week in China earlier this year.
According to Mr Robb, "real commercial outcomes" will be the focus of the week, which will be staged across several key cities including Delhi and Mumbai.
"While our existing trade and investment relationship is strong, we are determined to see it become so much stronger," Mr Robb said.
The week-long program is designed to highlight opportunities in key sectors including resources and energy, infrastructure, agribusiness, sustainability, health, tourism, education and training.
"India is an emerging economy that is already a significant investor in Australia and our fifth-largest export market," Mr Robb said.
"With a new Indian Government committed to modernisation and economic growth expected to reach 5.4 per cent in 2014-2015, it is a country that has so many untapped opportunities."
