New Delhi: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and invited him to share his vision for accelerating global economic growth at the upcoming G20 summit to be held in Brisbane on 15 and 16 November.

A government statement said Abbott “invited Prime Minister Modi to share, in particular, his vision for accelerating global economic growth and employment generation, based on his personal experiences of reforms and growth at the state level and his plans for India." The statement also added, “Prime Minister Abbott also sought PM’s support for Australia’s infrastructure initiatives in the G20."

Modi is to leave on Tuesday on a three-nation trip that includes a five-day visit to Australia for the G20 summit as well as a bilateral visit.

This will be the first G20 summit attended by Modi. India has been a regular at the summits since 2008. The grouping brings together developed and emerging economies such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.

At a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, former environment minister Suresh Prabhu, Modi’s sherpa—or the senior official who prepares the agenda for leaders to consider during the summit—said India will be flagging issues ranging from ways to accelerate global economic growth that will lead to increased job creation and channelling surplus global funds into infrastructure development to reforms to global financial institutions, a reduction in the cost of remittances and an increased sharing of information to prevent tax evasion.

The government statement said Modi thanked Prime Minister Abbott for his leadership in developing a meaningful agenda for the G20 Summit and expressed confidence that the Brisbane Summit would be one of the most memorable G20 Summits, which will impart new momentum in the global economy.

“Describing the G20 as the key forum for global economic coordination, Prime Minister Modi looked forward to attending his first G20 Summit. Prime Minister Modi shared his concerns on “jobless growth" prospects and felt that focusing on transforming the quality of life of people, not just on issues like the health of the financial markets, is necessary for creating employment-generating economic growth," the statement said.

Modi’s suggestions to Abbott included the facilitation of resource flows for infrastructure financing and the need to look at innovative mechanisms for infrastructure development, including research on transforming waste into infrastructure inputs and creating a virtual centre for information exchange, which would be beneficial to the poor countries as well, the statement added.

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