AIR Spotlight: India-Australia Relations

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: India – Australia Relations.

Participants:

1. Prof. Harsh V Pant: Strategic Analyst
2. Rangabhashiyam: AIR Correspondent

Context – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is on a four-day official visit to India (8-11 March 2023) to build a strong relationship between the two countries. The leaders of both countries, Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi will discuss cooperation in areas of trade and investment, renewable energy, technology, defence and security.

Bilateral Strategic Relationship between India & Australia

The Australian Prime Minister kicked off his visit with cricket diplomacy and watched a cricket match between Indian and Australian teams in Ahmedabad. Cricket has for many years been the lifeblood of the India-Australia relationship. Historically, it has often been said that the Australia-India relationship is based on three Cs – Cricket, Curry and Commonwealth.

• There has been a fundamental transformation in the relationship between the two countries over a decade and a half and the new Cs that have emerged are – China, Climate and Critical technologies. 
• Australia and India have had much success in defence and security cooperation and diplomatic coordination in recent years. They have obvious overlapping interests, principally the management of China’s assertiveness across the Indo-Pacific region.
• Also through partnerships like the QUAD, Australia and India cooperate on a wide range of areas, including counter-terrorism, the mining and refining of critical minerals, cyber-security, infrastructure financing, maritime security, space exploration and security, strategic research, supply chain resilience, sustainable energy projects, and vaccine manufacturing.
• Both countries are part of the Trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
• The SCRI is a trilateral agreement that was launched between the trade ministers of India, Australia and Japan in April 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The SCRI aims to create a virtuous cycle of enhancing supply chain resilience with a view to attaining strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in the Indo-Pacific region.

India – Australia ECTA (Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement)

The Ind-Aus ECTA was signed on April 2, 2022, and came into force on December 29, 2022. The Ind-Aus ECTA provides an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries. It covers almost all the tariff lines dealt with by India and Australia.

•  It is expected that with this agreement, the total bilateral trade will cross US$ 45-50 bn in 5 years from the existing US$ 31 bn. India’s Merchandise Exports are likely to increase by 10 billion by 2026-27. 
• Moreover, since the labour-intensive sectors will be benefitted, it is expected to create additional employment of at least 10 lakhs jobs in India, create ample opportunities for investment, and promotion of start-ups.
• It would also provide enhanced job opportunities for Indians in Australia and increased remittance flows to India. 

Australian University to set up its first-ever international campus in India

The education sector is one of the important drivers of the bilateral relationship between India and Australia. The education sector in India has been opened up for foreign universities to come up and set up their campuses in the country.

• Australia’s Deakin University has become the first ever foreign university to establish an international branch campus (IBC) in GIFT city (Gujarat International Finance Tec) in Gujarat. This is an exciting beginning for stronger educational, commercial and cultural relationships between the two countries.
• This initiative will support the development of the National Education Policy 2020  in the country and will further strengthen the Australia-India educational partnership.
• The proposed campus aims to prepare students for success in the rapidly advancing digital economy. It is expected to be a game changer, revolutionising the way in which universities and industries collaborate to shape the future of work. 

Automotive Sector

A paradigm change is taking place in the global automobile sector as it attempts to transition to alternative, less energy-intensive options. One of the primary drivers behind India’s efforts to accelerate the transition to e-mobility is the increase in prices of oil imports, rising pollution and international commitment to battle global change. 

• Lithium is a key component used in the battery of electric vehicles. Australia has the second largest lithium reserves in the world and as a market leader in Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS), it can help in meeting the growing lithium/Lithium-ion demands of India. 
• Australia is broadening its push to supply minerals such as lithium and rare earths to strategic trade partners.

Conclusion – The bilateral relations between the two countries have gained momentum in recent years. The long-standing people-to-people ties, the ever-increasing number of Indian students going to Australia for higher education, growing tourism and sporting links like cricket, have played a significant role in further strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries. For India, the ECTA with Australia is the first agreement with a large developed economy of the world after more than a decade. 

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