Australia unveils new blueprint for economic engagement with India: strategic partnership

Australia’s roadmap lays out four “superhighways of growth” — clean energy, education and skills, agribusiness and tourism — for enhancing and diversifying its trade and investment ties with India.

The Roadmap's main points

Identifies nearly 50 different opportunities to focus and accelerate Australia’s engagement with India across technology, industries, sports, culture, space, and defence.

The Australia-India Trade and Investment Accelerator Fund will help Australian companies access new business opportunities in India.

Australia-India Business Exchange (AIBX) will speed up business-to-business communication.

Energised The Australia-India CEO Forum aims to increase business-to-business contact and facilitate commercial engagement.

The Maitri (“friendship”) Grants program will enhance P2P, B2B, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The relationship between Australia and India is changing.

Trade: The ECTA of 2021 enhanced free trade with Australia, whose objective was to make India one of its top three export destinations by 2035.

2014 saw the signing of the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.

Strategic partnership: The Australian government said India was a “first-tier security partner” in the Indo-Pacific in its National Defense Strategy (NDS) 2024.

Defense cooperation: Contracts under the Defense Science and Technology Implementing Arrangement and Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement have been confirmed.

The two countries also conduct joint military exercises known as AUSTRAHIND, AUSINDEX and Pitch Black.