Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019 | Page 19

SPECIAL REPORT
Australia is enormous. Currently, India
is Australia’s fifth largest export market
with goods and services exports valued at
approximately A$21.87 billion as of 2017-18.
To put this in perspective, Australia’s two-
way trade relationship with China is valued
at A$174.45 billion. Noting the signifi cant
diff erence between these two trade partners,
coupled with the fact that India is currently
the world’s fastest-growing major economy,
Australia, and to a growing extent Australian
companies, have recongised the importance
of deepening economic ties with India.
Australia and India commenced
negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in 2011.
While there have been nine rounds of
negotiations, no formal negotiations have
occurred since September 2015. However,
while negotiations for CECA have stalled,
there is still plenty of scope for Governments
and Institutions to build strong economic
linkages.
A key outcome of Australian Prime
Minister Turnbull’s visit to India in 2017
was that the Australian Government would
commission a landmark India Economic
Prime Minister and Prime Minister of Australia ,
Malcolm Turnbull during Ceremonial Reception at
Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi (April 10, 2017)
strategy. The Report, released in July 2018,
was entitled “An India Economic Strategy to
2035: Navigating from Potential to Delivery”
and was prepared by Mr Peter Varghese
AO, former Secretary of the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade and former
Australian High Commissioner to India. The
Report and its recommendations have been
endorsed by both sides of politics and promise
to create a roadmap for unlocking the many
economic opportunities available in the India-
Australia relationship. In commissioning the
Report, the Australian Government wanted
to make clear its desires about “cementing
India as a priority economic partner”. Indeed,
the then Minister for Trade, Tourism and
Investment, The Hon Steven Ciobo MP, noted
that “[t]he report judges that no single market
over the next 20 years will off er more growth
opportunities for Australia than India.”
The Report identifies ten sectors where
the Australian Government and companies
should focus their eff orts. These focus areas
are where Australia’s competitive advantages
match India’s demands.
Shortly after the release of the
Varghese Report, the Indian Government
also emphasised the importance of the
economic partnership with Australian and
acknowledged that it had commissioned
a comprehensive economic strategy on
Australia, and appointed Ambassador Anil
Wadhwa as Chairman of the CII task force.
The strategy document is set to complement
the Varghese Report.
Soft Power and cultural diplomacy
As the Indian diaspora in Australia grows
and education linkages continue to fl ourish,
people-to-people links between India and
Australia have grown in importance. To this
end, Governments have used soft power
and public diplomacy to bolster the bilateral
relationship.
The Indian diaspora in Australia is now
700,000 strong. This may not seem signifi cant
given Indian’s 1.3 million population –
however, given that the population of
Australia is 25 million, this means that almost
3 percent of Australia’s population is from
India. Indeed, Punjabi is the fastest growing
language in Australia and there has been a
strong push for the teaching of in Hindi in
Australian schools. The Indian diaspora is
having an increasingly strong presence and
infl uence in business and politics.
While the Australian diaspora in India is
miniscule, there is an increasing number of
young Australians traveling to India for short-
Educational linkages
and collaborations
have increased
dramatically
over the past
few years with
most Australian
university seeking
to form strategic
partnerships with
quality Indian
institutions.
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 3 • March 2019, Noida • 19