India Australia relations

Published: 9th Mar, 2023

Context

Recently, Australian PM Anthony Albanese’s visited India to further strengthen India-Australia relations.

What are the major areas of Cooperation?

India and Australia share warm and friendly relations based on common values and democratic principles. The Strategic Partnership between the two countries was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in June 2020.
Economic:

India and Australia signed concrete Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) to strengthen their economic ties
In 2018, Australia announced implementation of “An India Economic Strategy to 2035”.

Defence ties: Australia participated in Malabar? exercise along with India, japan and USA.

Education: Australia also has a strong fit with the Indian effort to modernise its higher education sector under the New Education Policy.

Indian's emerged as one of the Australian's largest community. It is largest diaspora to acquire citizenship?
Nearly 60,000 Indians are studying in Australia at the end of 2022.

Technology: Australia-India Technology Framework agreement on cyber and cyber-enabled technology was signed between both the countries.
Critical minerals: Both India and Australia cooperates in mining and rare earth minerals. Australia is the major supplier of critical minerals.
Converging interest: Both India and Australia are concerned about the aggressive rise of China. Therefore, both the countries have signed the Mutual logistic support agreement.
International fora: Commonwealth, Quad, G20, IORA.

Both have shared interests in vision of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region. Both are part of QUAD, and also proposed Supply Chain Resilience Initiative.

An Australia-India Strategic Research Fund was established in 2006 for scientists to collaborate on leading-edge research.

What are the persistent between India and Australia?

India opted out from Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Among other things, India and Australia could not agree regarding market access over agriculture and dairy products.
Differences over china: Australia’s economy is heavily dependent on China, with China being Australia's largest trading partner, accounting for 26 % of its trade with the world.
- Also, Australian concerns have to do with China’s increased activities in the Pacific; while India is concerned about China’s greater presence and influence in the Indian Ocean
Nuclear Mineral resources: Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of uranium ore, but exports to India were banned because the country is not party to the NPT.

Way forward:

Both nations reassure neighbouring states, particularly those in South East Asia, that the Indo-Pacific region's public goods are the Quad's primary goal rather than containing China.

Modi’s emphasis on a “multipolar Indo-Pacific” and Albanese’s focus on “strategic equilibrium” provide the basis for a productive Indian and Australian regional engagement.

The political coordination and strategic cooperation between Delhi and Canberra in the numerous sub-regions, such as the southern ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, eastern Indian Ocean, and South Pacific, also needs to be improved.

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