Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Australia: Building partnership
The two-day visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Australia ended on May 24th 2023. The 20,000-person diaspora gathering that PM Modi addressed in Sydney alongside Australian PM Anthony Albanese and other lawmakers was the highlight of the Prime Minister’s trip. The Quad meeting was cancelled due to US President Joe Biden's cancellation of his trip to Australia, but PM Modi was the only world leader who did not change his schedule.
After a brief visit to Papua New Guinea, he travelled to Australia and successfully fostered closer ties between the two nations. In a statement issued before Modi's arrival, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "It will be our sixth meeting since I was sworn in as Prime Minister one year ago today." This was Modi's second trip to Australia since taking office in 2014. The Prime Minister also met one-on-one with the CEO of AustraliaSuper, Paul Schroder, and the executive chairs of Fortescue Future Industry, Gina Rinehart of Hancock Prospecting and Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Prospecting. During these meetings, he urged that the Indian industry should cooperate more with the Australian one in areas like technology, talent development, and renewable energy.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE VISIT
This visit by the Indian Prime Minister indeed made a lot of progress in fostering strong ties with Australia. Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese signed a migration and mobility collaboration contract with the prime minister of Australia, and it is meant to provide exciting chances for researchers, businessmen, and students. The two have also agreed to finish negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) by the end of this year. India and Australia signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in December 2022. To make the ECTA a Comprehensive Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement is the current objective. The ECTA has already led to the elimination of duties on 85% of Australian exports to India and a decrease of duties to zero on 96% of Indian exports to Australia in value. Analysts predict that the signing of the ECTA will increase bilateral commerce to $50 billion in the next five years. PM Modi visited the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House while being escorted by Albanese, both decorated with Indian tricolour. A long-standing desire of the Indian community in Australia, PM Modi also spoke at a significant gathering for the Indian diaspora at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and declared India's plan to build a consulate in Brisbane. India currently has consultants in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, in addition to a high commission in Canberra. Brisbane is home to the third-largest diaspora community. Hence the establishment of a consulate there was long overdue. More than 619,000 Australians of Indian ancestry were counted in the 2016 census. They account for 2.8% of the total population. Modi further added that the subject of temple attacks and the existence of separatist organisations in Australia had previously been discussed by him and Albanese. The Prime Minister thanked Albanese for his actions thus far and told him that he would continue to take firm action against any dangers to their bilateral relationship.
The Indian prime minister stated that the two countries focused on expanding cooperation in mining and essential minerals during their meetings. Furthermore, they have advanced their combined efforts by creating an Australia-India Green Hydrogen Taskforce, demonstrating significant progress. Albanese also announced the opening of a new Australian consulate in Bengaluru, which would be the country's sixth diplomatic presence in India. The consulate's goal is to help Australian companies engage with India's digital and innovation ecosystem.
PM Modi emphasised the expanding military cooperation between the two nations throughout his remarks. He recommended more vital collaboration and noted the productive bilateral training exercise "AUSTRA HIND 22," which took place in 2022. Despite the United States and Japan's absence, which caused the Quad summit to be postponed, India and Australia were able to undertake substantive discussions about collaboration for a "free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific." PM Modi also urged the Australian companies to invest in a number of Indian industries, such as semiconductors, telecommunications, and digital infrastructure, at a business round-table. Further, the Indian Prime Minister cited the well-known cooking competition "Masterchef," yoga, tennis, movies, food, and the culturally varied Indian diaspora in Australia as examples of the strong cultural ties between the two nations during his outreach to the diaspora.
INDIA AND AUSTRALIA TIES
In the last five years, there has been a significant transformation in India-Australian bilateral relations, attributable primarily to both countries' strong political will. Australia and India's relationship is at a crossroads due to growing bilateral ties and concerted efforts to integrate them into a larger regional alliance in the strategically significant Indo-Pacific. Defence and security, trade, cultural ties, technology, and education are among the critical areas of collaboration between the two sides. Engagement between the two sides is at an all-time high. Canberra and New Delhi seem prepared to cement the rising development of their alliance, which is being supported by a shared goal of balancing China and guaranteeing a stable order in the Indo-Pacific.
The Indian economy has grown steadily, reaching roughly USD 3.5 trillion. In the next 25 years, it is expected to reach USD 32 trillion. Government data shows that between April 2000 and December 2022, Australia invested USD 1.07 billion in India. Both nations previously put into effect an interim free trade agreement on December 29th of last year. In 2022–2023, Australia will rank as India's 13th-largest trading partner. While exports were valued at USD 6.95 billion, imports from the nation were USD 19 billion during the previous fiscal year. India is Australia's top export market for goods like gold and chickpeas, as well as its second and third-largest markets for coal and copper ores and wool and lead, respectively. Coal, petroleum, and copper ores and concentrates are among Australia's main exports.
Australia has further accepted that India holds a significant and central position in the Indo-Pacific, and this is reflected in the fact that Australia and the other Quad countries recognise that India can have a variety of positions on global issues that will be in line with its own national interests, despite being a member of the Quad.
THE CHINA ANGLE
India, the United States, Japan, and Australia created the informal alliance known as the Quad with the goal of containing China in the Indo-Pacific. India and Australia managed to have a thoughtful conversation on the matter despite Japan and the USA being absent from the action. Australia and India have agreed that they intend to maximise and seize the potential while also actively making efforts to lessen the problems that develop in the Indo-Pacific region.
India is drawing closer to fellow Quad member Australia as its regional security role expands against the background of heightened US-China competition. Both countries share the goal of containing Beijing's influence. The improvement in ties helped put an end to a decade-long impasse between Canberra and New Delhi, known for its protectionism, over the details of their first free-trade deal, which the administration of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese swiftly signed last year. While India was not a fan of an unchallenged China, it also did not want the Indo-Pacific to be primarily governed by the US and was not willing to back Washington militarily should it decide to go to war, say, over Taiwan. The one defining characteristic of Indian strategic thought is its strong commitment to strategic autonomy. Additionally, it will not let any collective balancing of China obstruct or undermine its pursuit of strategic autonomy.
CONCLUSION
Despite the difficulties they encounter, the relationship between India and Australia has enormous potential for growth and collaboration. There are a number of crucial areas where the two nations might strengthen their cooperation, even though the shared concerns and similar interests the two countries have about China may not be enough to serve as the foundation of a greater strategic alliance.
First off, Australia may be a key player in encouraging India to become more involved in the South Pacific, which will enable India to increase its influence in the area. India can also learn vital lessons and collaborate with Australia to overcome comparable difficulties encountered by island nations in the Indian Ocean by relying on Australia's expertise in dealing with climate change concerns in the Pacific island states. Additionally, by utilising Australia's involvement in the effort, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure effort (CDRI) offers a chance for Australia and India to cooperate in the Western Indian Ocean Region. The two countries' strategic cooperation may be further strengthened by working together on Southeast Asian projects and participating more actively in ASEAN-led events like the East Asia Summit (EAS). In addition, through strengthening regional collaboration, Australia's leadership might potentially attract more ASEAN nations and countries bordering the Indian Ocean to the marine resources pillar of India's Indo-Pacific Initiative. Finally, both nations may cooperate to strengthen the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and promote greater regional connectivity and collaboration. While India and Australia's relationship has advanced considerably, there is still more room for cooperation in order to fully realise the benefits of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. India and Australia can strengthen their relationship, improve regional stability, and make a valuable contribution to the development of the Indo-Pacific region by investigating and participating in these possible areas of cooperation. The development of a substantial and long-lasting strategic partnership between Australia and India is possible, given time, reasonable expectations, and a shared commitment to common interests.
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Pic Courtesy-Pankaj Jha
(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)
