Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green met Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, with discussions focusing on sports infrastructure, Olympic preparedness, higher education, and cooperation in renewable energy.
During the meeting, Patel said Gujarat was keen to draw on Australia’s expertise in the sustainable, long-term use of Olympic infrastructure, including housing and sports facilities, as India explores the possibility of bidding for future Olympic Games.
The discussions included Australia’s planning for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, with Green outlining how venues and residential infrastructure developed for the event would be repurposed after the Games for public housing, student accommodation and community sports use.
Notably, Green invited a high-level delegation from Gujarat to visit Brisbane to review Olympic preparations firsthand and expressed Australia’s interest in partnering with Gujarat on advanced sports training, particularly in swimming, para-athletics and high-performance centres.
The Chief Minister welcomed the proposal and said that collaboration with Australia would help Gujarat’s athletes access world-class training systems, strengthening their performance prospects ahead of the 2036 Olympic Games.
The High Commissioner also briefed the Gujarat CM on plans to establish a comprehensive sports ecosystem through Deakin University at GIFT City. The proposed initiative aims to go beyond a conventional centre of excellence by integrating sports science, sports research and sports business programmes.
Additionally, Green invited Patel to attend Deakin University’s first convocation ceremony, scheduled for March 2026.
The Chief Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India-Australia relations have strengthened steadily, with Australia’s participation in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit contributing to Gujarat’s growth across sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles and apparel, life sciences and pharmaceuticals.
Lauding Gujarat’s rapid progress in renewable energy, Green expressed Australia’s willingness to extend its expertise to support the state’s renewable energy transition.
He also praised the solar rooftop training facilities at Pandit Deendayal Energy University, which have the capacity to train 2,000 participants, highlighting the increasing participation of women in these programmes.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary Ajay Kumar, Managing Director of iNDEXTb Keyur Sampat, and other senior officials.
— IANS
