Australian Trade Minister Tehan To Be In India To Push Trade Talks
New Delhi, Feb 9: Seeking to push ongoing India-Australia trade talks, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan is set to hold discussions with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Tehan will be travelling to India today to advance negotiations on a free trade agreement and promote Australia as a premium destination for students and tourists.
As per a statement issued by Tehan on Wednesday, he will have several meetings to further negotiations on the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). “Mr Goyal and I have been in regular contact over the Christmas/New Year period because we are both committed to concluding an interim free trade agreement. Nothing can replace face-to-face meetings to help speed up the process in the interest of both countries,” the statement said. India-Australia bilateral trade exceeded AUD$24 billion in 2020.
Major Indian exports to Australia are petroleum products, medicines, polished diamonds, gold jewellery, apparels etc, while key Australian exports to India include coal, LNG, alumina and non-monetary gold. In services, major Indian exports relate to travel, telecom and computer, government and financial services, while Australian services exports were principally in education and personal related travel.
In 2020, India was Australia’s seventh-largest trading partner and sixth largest export destination, driven by coal and international education. “A free trade agreement with India would be a boon for Australian businesses, farmers and workers, creating new jobs and opportunities with one of the world’s largest and fastest developing economies. CECA is a potential game-changer in opening opportunities for both Australia and India. It is also an important piece of our post-COVID economic recovery,” Tehan said. During his visit to India, Minister Tehan will also sign a memorandum of understanding on behalf of the Australian Government with the Indian Government to promote further travel and tourism between the two countries.
