NEW DELHI & MELBOURNE, 4 April 2022: India and Australia signed the long-pending Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI ECTA) on April 2, 2022. Since then the euphoria has been intense. The Australia India Institute’s Annual Oration 2022, held today at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi on ‘The Rise and Rise of Australia-India Relations’ saw Australia’s High Commissioner in India, Barry O’Farrell emphasized trade and economic relations were key to ties and a commitment to move towards a full agreement was there.
“There is no doubt the Australia-India relationship holds great cause for optimism, built on what His Excellency Barry O’Farrell has referred to as the four Ds: Democracy, Defence, Diaspora & Dosti. We are absolutely delighted to have him with us today, said Lisa Singh, CEO of the Australia India Institute.
“The trade agreement between India and Australia gives us an opportunity to properly harness the complementary nature of our economies in areas such as critical minerals, professional services, education and tourism.
Indian consumers and businesses will benefit from the immediate elimination of tariffs on 85 percent of Australian goods exports to India.
While Australian consumers will benefit from almost 96 percent of Indian goods imports entering Australia duty free, ” the High Commissioner said.
The High Commissioner also referred to the importance of India’s fast-growing Indian diaspora in Australia, which he disclosed is now “more than 700,000 strong (or 1.35) according to the latest census”.
“This ‘living bridge’ between our two nations has helped broaden and deepen our ties, ” he emphasized.
In conclusion, he said, ” I think we can safely say that Australia has put that argument to bed over the past 24 months. We’ve set a targeted and strategic direction for the relationship.
We’re investing in the technology, talent and trading spirit of our people. We’re working across the breadth of our shared economic, strategic and regional interests to build webs of alignment that support our region, the Indo-Pacific.
And most importantly, as the relationship continues to rise, we’re not resting on our laurels.”
Australia India Institute Annual Oration 2022 (FULL PROGRAM VIDEO)
– With inputs by Neeraj Nanda, Melbourne.
(THE REPORT WILL BE UPDATED)
