India-Australia partnership moves forward; PM Scott Morrison announces investment of Rs 1500 crore
At the end of the second virtual India-Australia Summit, leaders of both countries on Monday (March 21, 2022) committed closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration, education and mobility. At the end of the meeting, the Australian side announced an investment of Rs 1500 crore in India.
Opening remarks of PM Modi & PM Morrison
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for enhanced cooperation in areas such as emerging technologies, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged the countries in the Indo-Pacific to ensure that the terrible events of Ukraine do not occur within the region.
Prime Minister Modi delivered his opening remarks in Hindi and did not mention the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Instead he highlighted the responsibility of countries with shared values like India and Australia to ensure checks and balances for critical and new emerging technologies.
And he also stated that the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in key areas including trade, defence and security, education, science and technology as well as innovation has touched new heights, after the two sides elevated their ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020.
PM Morrison, in his opening remarks he also noted that the summit was happening against the “very distressing backdrop of the war in Europe”. And said that Russia must be held to account for the tragic loss of life in Ukraine. In his virtual address, the Australian leader stated that the focus should be on the Indo-Pacific region and to ensure these events should never occur in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indo-Pacific Region, according to him , is facing “increasing change and much pressure’’ and he also said that QUAD member countries had recently discussed “The unlawful invasion of Ukraine” and the “implications and consequences of that terrible event in the Indo-Pacific Region.”
In his remarks he highlighted the progress made in various fields of cooperation between the two countries like maritime cooperation, defence and security, critical minerals, clean energy and science and technology.
The two leaders also discussed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which is under negotiations and expressed hope it will be concluded early as it is important for the economic recovery and security.
India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
The India-Australia bilateral relationship has evolved in recent years, developing along a positive track, into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020.
In a White Paper released in 2017, Australia sees India in the front rank of its international partnerships.
The two leaders met in person on the sidelines of the QUAD Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC last year in September. They met again in Glasgow on the sidelines of the COP 26 Climate Summit. As reported earlier, the Australian Prime Minister last November had addressed the Bengaluru Tech Summit and had announced the new Australia-India Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy. And he had also announced the intention to open a new Consulate General in Bengaluru.
The two countries have also held their first ever 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in September when FM Payne and Minister for Defence Peter Dutton met their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
According to sources, to strengthen our cooperation in issues of mutual interests, the QUAD has become an important multilateral forum.
Earlier this year Dr Jaishankar had visited Australia to attend the 4th QUAD foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Melbourne and to also co-chair the 12th Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue and the first Foreign Ministers’ Cyber Framework Dialogue.
India is one of the sources of skilled immigrants to Australia where the Indian population is about 721000 as of 2020.
There is a constant flow of students and tourists from India and from December 2021, there is no travel exemption for fully vaccinated eligible visa holders including Indian students and professionals.
There is a Strategic Convergence with Australia, explained a source and the two counties have a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement which was signed in 2014, there is a 2015 Technical Agreement on White Shipping Information Exchange, also there is arrangement concerning mutual logistics support signed in 2020 and the armed forces of both countries participate in drills like Malabar and AUSINDEX.
It is a member of the Like-Minded Group of NSG members, and this has always supported India’s admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and in Vienna, Australia has been working with the “small group” of countries in support of India’s application.
A key partner in the QUAD initiative, it is also a resource powerhouse and has large deposits of several types of critical minerals which India requires.