Australia is going to invest over $280 million to strengthen economic connections with India, only one day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian colleague Scott Morrison held a virtual meeting. This would entail collaboration in a variety of fields, including space, research, and green steel.
This comes on the heels of India, Japan, and Australia’s Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), which was created last year with the goal of reducing reliance on China. In addition, the interim bilateral free trade deal between India and Australia is expected to be signed by the end of the month.
Dan Tehan, Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment, stated on Tuesday that his government is committed to the India Economic Strategy and “its ambitious aims to raise India into Australia’s top three export markets by 2035.”
“The Morrison Government is investing more than $280 million in India to strengthen cooperation, expand our economic partnership, and support jobs and businesses in both countries,” says Morrison “According to an official statement, Tehan stated.
He also stated that Australia will invest $16.6 million in India to develop ties with India‘s key policy and finance institutions, as well as $8.9 million to encourage enhanced corporate engagement.
Tehan listed $17.2 million for an Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, $35.7 million for a Green Steel Partnership, $25.2 million to expand the Australian Space Agency’s International Space Investment initiative, and $28.1 million to establish a Centre for Australia-India Relations to strengthen community ties as key areas of investment.
India is anticipated to close the $6.46 billion trade gap between India and Australia, which has increased from $2.46 billion last year to $6.46 billion this year. While New Delhi’s exports to Canberra increased by 101 percent from April to December, its imports increased by 130 percent over the same period last year.
The interim trade deal between India and Australia could omit sensitive industries like dairy, as Australian trade minister Dan Tehan stated during his visit to India that Australia understood India’s dairy, beef, and wheat sensitivities.
