Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, arrives in India for a bilateral visit, marking the first such visit by an Australian PM since the Labour Party government took office in May 2022. The first in-person India-Australia Annual Summit will be held during this visit, providing an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to discuss and advance their comprehensive strategic partnership.
The stop-off comes after a series of high-level engagements and exchange of ministerial visits between the two sides in 2022 and 2023, including the recent visits of the Australian Foreign Minister and Education Minister to India. While this marks increased diplomatic activity between the New Delhi and Canberra, big strides have been noticed on the economic side of things. The Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) entered into force in December 2022. It is the first free trade agreement signed by India with any developed country in a decade and is expected to boost bilateral trade to reach around US$50 billion in five years.
The bilateral defence cooperation is expanding, too. There is active engagement between the tri-services of both states, with various military exercises and arrangements concerning mutual logistics support concluded during the virtual summit in June 2020.
In addition to defence and economic cooperation, the two countries are also keen to cooperate in the field of clean energy and have taken several initiatives on the matter, including signing a Letter of Intent on New and Renewable Energy in February 2022.
The people-to-people ties between India and Australia are also significant, with the Indian community in Australia continuing to grow in size and importance. As per the 2021 Census, around 9,76,000 people in Australia trace their ancestry to India, making them the second-largest group of overseas-born residents on the island nation.
During the visit, the mechanism for mutual recognition of educational qualifications was signed, facilitating the mobility of students between India and Australia. Deakin University and the University of Wollongong are also planning to open campuses in India.
India and Australia cooperate in various multilateral fora, including the Commonwealth, IORA, ASEAN Regional Forum, and the International Solar Alliance. Australia has also expressed strong support for India’s G20 Presidency.
The State Visit of Australian PM Albanese is expected to further boost the existing level of high momentum in bilateral engagements, which has been steadily growing over the years.
