On the evening of the 19^th, my trip to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji concluded. While on the way back I was reflecting on the last ten days – what did we achieve, what were the outcomes for India and that is when I thought I should also share some thoughts with you through my Blog.

To begin with, it is vital to understand the historic uniqueness of this visit.

In the case of Australia, this was the first bilateral visit by a Prime Minister of India in 28 years. Fiji witnessed such a visit almost 33 years back. On one hand, the IT and Communication revolution brought the world closer but on the other hand, we could not reach the shores of these two countries, each important in its own way, for almost three decades.

I thought this must change.

I attended five Summits including the one with leaders of Pacific Islands that I hosted in Fiji and met 38 world leaders. The number of full bilateral meetings I had stands at 20. In fact, I had the opportunity to meet leaders from every part of the world! These meetings were frank, comprehensive and fruitful. We covered substantial ground on several issues. I met a wide range of business leaders as well.

During these bilateral meetings, I noticed one thing- that the world is looking at India with renewed respect and immense enthusiasm! I see a global community that is tremendously keen to engage with India.

With every leader, we discussed how we could make our relations more extensive, diverse and wide-ranging. Strengthening trade and commerce and drawing industry to India was a central part of the discussion.Numerous leaders I met were very optimistic about our ‘Make in India’ initiative and are keen to come to India and be a part of the extensive and diverse opportunities India has to offer. I see this as a positive sign, one that will bring several opportunities to India’s youth and give them the right exposure that will make them shine. Such exposure has become imperative keeping in mind the pace at which the world is developing. Several world leaders also showed keenness on our plans to create ‘Next Gen Infrastructure’ and smart cities.

I had the opportunity to address the Parliament

s of Australia and Fiji during this visit.

Coming from the world’s largest democracy, it is always heartening to visit these temples of democracies and to share thoughts from within the hallowed portals of their four walls. There is no bond that is stronger than a bond between two democracies. On one hand it gave me an opportunity to reach out to the wider political leadership of these nations and on the other hand it opened new avenues for co-operation. Once again, the lawmakers were very upbeat about India.

Both addresses were a first for any Indian Prime Minister. In fact, I was told that my address to the Fijian Parliament was a first by any world leader. This is not a personal achievement, but it is a reflection on the respect that the 125 crore people of India have in the eyes of the global community.