Narendra Modi celebrates 'Indianness' of raucous Melbourne crowds after signing a uranium deal with Albanese

By DUNCAN MURRAY FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 00:15, 10 July 2026 | Updated: 00:25, 10 July 2026 A raucous crowd of thousands welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Australia, with the long-serving leader whipping supporters into excited cheers.  Modi told the 30,000 - mostly Indian diaspora - attendees at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Thursday night that the spirit of India is alive across the city. 'The Indianness within you has always endured and been kept alive,' he said. Modi pointed to community markets across Melbourne and Australia being alive with the colour and spirit of India. 'We Indians are like that - just as when sugar is added to milk, it makes the milk much sweeter,' he said. 'The milk is bought from Australia, however the tea is made the Indian way.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined the event, welcoming Modi as 'a very dear friend'. He also thanked the largely Indian diaspora crowd, saying about one million Australians could trace their roots to India. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stand together on stage at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Thursday night  The crowd cheers inside Marvel Stadium during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit 'Australians of all backgrounds have been enriched by you bringing your culture here and adding it to our multicultural character,' he said. Albanese told the crowd he spent six weeks backpacking through India in 1991, where he experienced the generosity and warmth of its people. 'I learned there something very simple and clear … if you want to understand India, get on a train,' he said. Ranjai Raghu, who moved to Australia from India about 20 years ago, compared the atmosphere inside the stadium during Modi's visit to a cricket match and she said opinions of the Indian leader among the diaspora were mostly positive. 'There's been a very big change in India and India's relationships with other countries during his term,' she told AAP. 'We support that co-operation.' Modi is due to depart Australia on Friday after a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where he and Albanese will meet Cricket Australia and AFL leaders. Earlier in the trip, the pair signed a swathe of deals, including an agreement to restart shipments of uranium from Australia to India, ending more than a decade of delays to regular deliveries of the fuel. Modi and Albanese signed a a swathe of deals on Thursday, including an agreement to restart shipments of uranium from Australia to India Thousands from Australia's Indian diaspora attended the Melbourne event  Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said the deal represents an immense opportunity. Ms Constable pointed to India's plans to expand its nuclear fleet, saying meeting even half of that additional demand would double Australia's current uranium export volumes. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan opened Thursday evening's event, saying her state is home to more Indians than anywhere else in the world. 'Victoria respects India, we value your people,' she said. 'We welcome your students, your businesses, your families, your ideas. 'In Victoria the Indian community is not just accepted, [it is] part of who we are.'