Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday, 9 July 2026, shared a live broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi participating in a community event in Melbourne, Australia, amplifying the outreach to the Indian diaspora during the Prime Minister's ongoing visit to the country.

Context

Chief Minister Dhami's post directed followers to a live stream of PM Modi engaging with the Indian-origin community in Melbourne, one of Australia's largest cities and home to a significant Indian diaspora. The event is part of PM Modi's official engagements in Australia, where diaspora outreach has been a consistent feature of every prime ministerial visit. The Indian community in Australia numbers over one million, making it one of the fastest-growing and most influential diaspora groups in the country.

Policy Backdrop

India and Australia formalised a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020, elevating ties across defence, trade, education and people-to-people links. This was followed by the signing of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in 2022, which significantly expanded bilateral commerce. Community events hosted during prime ministerial visits serve a dual purpose: reinforcing cultural bonds with the diaspora and projecting India's soft power in a country that is also a key partner in the Quad grouping alongside the United States and Japan.

PM Modi's first visit to Australia in 2014 set the template for large-scale diaspora engagement, with major community gatherings held in Sydney and Perth. Subsequent visits have built on that foundation, with Melbourne emerging as a focal city given its large Indian-origin population concentrated in suburbs such as Point Cook and Truganina.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of such community events are the Indian diaspora in Australia, who gain direct access to the Prime Minister and a platform to raise concerns around visa pathways, education recognition and bilateral mobility. For the Australian government, the events underscore the depth of people-to-people ties that complement institutional frameworks. India-Australia business communities also stand to benefit, as diaspora engagement often runs parallel to trade and investment discussions at the official level.

For Chief Minister Dhami, amplifying the Prime Minister's international engagements on social media reflects a broader BJP practice of showcasing the central government's active foreign policy to domestic audiences, reinforcing the party's narrative of a globally respected India.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the outcomes of PM Modi's broader visit to Australia, including any new implementation milestones under the ECTA, updates on defence cooperation agreements, and announcements relevant to Indian students and skilled workers in Australia. The next India-Australia leaders' meeting is expected to set the agenda for deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across its multiple tracks.