Australia, India agree on strengthening economic, defence ties

Australia, India agree on strengthening economic, defence ties: Australia and India have agreed to accelerate a broader economic partnership and to boost their defence ties, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in New Delhi.

March 2023 Current Affairs Quiz

Progress in Economic ties between India & Australia:

• Last year, the two countries signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), India’s first free trade agreement with a developed country in a decade.
• However, a much larger Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has been stuck in negotiations for over a decade.
• Talks between the countries resumed in 2011, but were suspended in 2016 due to gridlock. Negotiations resumed in 2021, but a deal has yet to be reached.

Significance of the Economic ties between India & Australia:

• This transformational deal will realise the full potential of the bilateral economic relationship, creating new employment opportunities and raising living standards for the people of both Australia and India.
• Bilateral trade between the countries was $27.5 billion in 2021, with India claiming that under the ECTA, trade could nearly double to $50 billion in five years.

Defence ties between India & Australia:

• India and Australia are security partners through the Quad group, which also includes the United States and Japan.
• Security cooperation is an important pillar in the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Australia,” PM Modi said at a joint press briefing after a private meeting.
• Australia and India made “significant and ambitious” progress in strengthening defence and security ties and also discussed climate change issues, Albanese said.