Canberra: The bond between Australia and India has reached unprecedented levels, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledging on Wednesday to elevate this partnership further.
Australia is enhancing its economic connections with India to generate domestic employment and has introduced a new strategy aimed at optimizing trade and investment prospects.
In a message on X, Albanese emphasized that Canberra is strengthening its economic relationship with New Delhi to foster job creation within Australia.
"The relationship between Australia and India is now stronger, deeper, and more significant than ever before. However, there is still much more to achieve. We are enhancing Australia's economic ties with India to create jobs domestically," stated the Australian Prime Minister.
"Today, we unveiled a new roadmap focused on maximizing the trade and investment opportunities that lie ahead," he continued.
Earlier today, the Australian government announced a roadmap that includes an investment of USD 16 million in the Australia-India Trade and Investment Accelerator Fund (TIAF). This initiative aims to assist Australian businesses in accessing India's rapidly expanding market and discovering new commercial avenues.
The roadmap outlines four primary growth sectors, referred to as "superhighways of growth": clean energy, education and skills, agribusiness, and tourism. These sectors have been selected for their potential to stimulate economic development and create fresh opportunities for Australian enterprises.
Previously, Albanese remarked, "India is a vital partner as we diversify our trade relationships to enhance prosperity for all Australians. This roadmap is essential for us to fully harness our potential with India, which will significantly benefit Australia's economy, our businesses, and job creation."
Australia has introduced an ambitious strategy aimed at enhancing and diversifying its trade and investment relationships with India. This strategy outlines four key areas of growth: clean energy, education and skills, agribusiness, and tourism.
The new Roadmap for Australia's Economic Engagement with India is designed to create more trade opportunities, support businesses and consumers, secure supply chains, and generate employment.
This initiative emphasizes increasing bilateral investment and fostering stronger connections with Indian-Australian communities and enterprises.
Moreover, it identifies nearly 50 opportunities to strengthen collaboration in critical sectors such as defense, sports, culture, space, and technology.
This strategic plan is intended to assist Australian companies in tapping into the rapidly expanding Indian market. With India projected to become the world's third-largest economy by 2030, the roadmap delineates essential growth sectors and reinforces bilateral relations, promoting shared prosperity and economic stability.
In addition, an extra USD 4 million will be allocated to enhance the Maitri ('friendship') Grants program, which aims to fortify business, cultural, and interpersonal connections between the two countries.
Australia's current free trade agreement with India has already yielded substantial financial advantages, saving Australian businesses hundreds of millions of dollars and is expected to lower exporters' tariff expenses by USD 2 billion by year-end. These savings are directly benefiting Australian consumers and aiding in job creation.
Negotiations are also underway for a new free trade agreement that will provide even more opportunities for Australian businesses in India's vast and dynamic market of over 1.4 billion people. The roadmap is the culmination of extensive consultations, with more than 400 engagements held across both nations.
