AKIPRESS.COM - India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed for an increased partnership between Australia and India in an historic speech to Australia's parliament on Tuesday morning.

Modi became the third world leader, behind Britain's David Cameron and China's Xi Jinping, to address parliament either side of last weekend's Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Brisbane, reports Xinhua.

It was also the first time in 28 years that an Indian leader has publicly addressed Australia's federal politicians, and the 64- year-old used the opportunity to suggest both countries can benefit from working together.

"Australia has immense opportunities to participate in India's progress," Modi said on Tuesday morning. "In turn, India will be the answer to your search for new economic opportunities and your desires to diversify your global economic engagement."

In terms of security concerns, both practically and in an economic sense, Modi suggested that both Canberra and New Delhi would profit from working together in order to improve regional security.

"Our region has seen huge progress on the foundation of peace and stability, but we can not take this for granted," Modi said. " Preserving it will be the most important task in the region."

"India and Australia can play their part in it by expanding our security cooperation and depending on international partnerships in the region."

In his speech, Modi also welcomed Australia's deepened engagement in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region, saying it holds the key to the region's future.

Earlier in the day, Modi had addressed a sell-out crowd of 15, 000 mainly Australia's Indian community at Sydney's Olympic Park.

People had traveled to Sydney from across the country in order to hear the Indian leader's speech, where he focused on issues such as the importance of democracy and fixing India's crippling poverty problem.