Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal concluded his productive 3-day visit to Australia (23-26 September, 2024) today.

The Minister co-chaired the 19th Joint Ministerial Commission meeting with Senator The Hon. Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia at Government House in Adelaide on August 25, 2024. Discussions focussed on areas of cooperation and economic priorities for India and Australia; implementation of Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) initiatives; progress on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations etc.   The Ministers reiterated the target of achieving AUD 100 billion bilateral trade by 2030. They also discussed enhancement of cooperation at multilateral and other regional forums- G20, IPEF and WTO, including the Domestic Services Regulation issue.

At the Joint Press Conference after the meeting, the Minister announced the opening of an Investment, Trade, Technology and Tourism (ITTT) office in Sydney which will have representatives of Invest India, NICDC, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation and DGFT, including industry bodies like CII and FICCI. Minister Farrell announced a new grant of AUD 10 million for Australian businesses, organisations and universities to boost cooperation with India. Under the new grant, AUD 5 million will be extended to Australian organisations working on projects that boost trade and innovation, cultural ties and community leaders, and a further AUD 5 million for scholars and fellowships to support Australian universities to host Indian students in their research, on shared challenges.

Both sides agreed that the 'Make in India’ and ‘Future Made in Australia’ initiatives are complementary and present opportunities to both sides to work together. In this context, Minister mentioned that India marked yesterday, the 10th anniversary of Prime Minister's flagship 'Make in India' initiative, aimed at scaling domestic manufacturing in India. The initiative had created employment opportunities, boosted Indian exports and improved the lives of millions of people in India.

The Governor of South Australia, The Hon Frances Adamson AC, hosted a lunch for Minister and the accompanying delegation at the Government House. The lunch was attended by The Hon Joe Szakacs MP Minister for Trade and Investment and Minister for Local Government of South Australia and Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, reflecting the strong bipartisan support to India-Australia partnership.

Later in the day, Minister Goyal accompanied by Minister Farrell visited the Australian Space Agency at Lot Fourteen Innovation precinct where they interacted with Australian space companies, including, Space Machine Company, which is working with New Space India Limited (NSIL) to launch the largest satellite built in Australia onboard an Indian Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. This Mission, named MAITRI exemplifies the close friendship between the two countries and marks a significant milestone in the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Minister's visit will impart further momentum to the enhanced economic and commercial engagement between India and Australia. The visit allowed both sides to review progress of CECA and implementation of ECTA initiatives. In addition, several interactions with Australian and Indian businesses in Sydney will lead to enhancement of trade and investment ties between the two countries.

Bilateral economic cooperation: institutionalising trade and investment facilitation with joint offices and targeted collaboration. Bilateral economic cooperation between India and Australia emphasised coordinated trade and investment facilitation mechanisms, implementation of ECTA initiatives and progress on CECA negotiations. Institutional measures announced include an Investment, Trade, Technology and Tourism office in Sydney with participating Indian agencies and industry bodies and an Australian grant program to support trade, innovation partnerships and academic exchanges. Sectoral collaboration highlighted space cooperation, complementary manufacturing initiatives, and intensified business and institutional interactions to accelerate implementation of trade agreement initiatives, investment promotion, technology cooperation and sectoral linkages.