MELBOURNE, Feb 6: Australia today said it was keen to sign the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with India to bring trade and investment ties to the forefront.
Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said his country would push for the agreement after the general election in India.
The Australian Government was “working on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with India and Indonesia which would be pushed soon after polls are held in both the nations,” Robb said at the Australia-India Roundtable, an informal dialogue between the two countries.
In 2011, both the countries launched negotiations to conclude the agreement aimed at assisting in broadening the base of merchandise trade by addressing tariff barriers and behind the border restrictions on trade in goods.
Two-way trade has grown in value from USD 3.3 billion in 2000 to over USD 17.4 billion in 2012.
“There is so much advantage for all of us in decades ahead,” Robb said. Though the relation should be wide ranging covering security to cultural but it has to be driven by seeing the economic benefit both ways, he said.
“That will maintain the consistency of the relevance of the relationship,” the minister said.
Robb told the delegation that India was emerging one of the largest trading partner after China, Japan and South Korea.
He also refereed improving and rebuilding educational ties with India, especially in the field of providing training the growing young Indian population.
The Roundtable, that concluded here today, covered wide-ranging agenda encompassing economic, strategic, political and education-related aspects of the bilateral relationship, as well as regional and global challenges affecting both countries.
A high-level Indian delegation led by Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs Anil Wadhwa held talks with several Australian officials in Sydney and Melbourne.
The Roundtable was organised by the Australia India Institute in partnership with the Lowy Institute and Indian foreign policy think-tank the Observer Research Foundation.
Besides top officials from both the countries, the dialogue was attended by Australian lawmakers, educationists and business representatives.
The dialogue was co-chaired by Rory Medcalf, Director of the international security programme at Lowy Institute and Indian foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan. (AGENCIES)
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