By Deepika Banerji
The inaugural webinar of the Triveni dialogue this year which was conducted as a joint initiative of Australia India Business Council (AIBC), Institute for Australia India Engagement (IAIE) and Council for India Australia Studies (CIAS) on February 1 focused on kick-starting the mutual intellectual, academic and policy journey of Australia and India continuing on from last year.
Dr. AshutoshMisra, CEO, IAIE, hailing the webinar as a highly stimulating, policy relevant and timely dialogue, welcomed the panel of speakers comprising Ambassador Anil Wadhwa, Former Secretary (East), Government of India; Peter Varghese AO, Chancellor, UQ, Former Secretary DFAT; Barry O’ Farrell, Australian High Commissioner, New Delhi; and Gitesh A. Sarma, Indian High Commissioner, Canberra. SanushkaSeomangal, National Vice Chair, AIBC acted as the moderator giving an insight into the contributions of the keynote speakers.
Ambassador Wadhwa whose India’s Australia Economy Strategy report was launched on 18th November 2020 highlighted the key points of his seminal report which emphasise that the need of the hour is for Australia to get more closely involved in the Indian economy. Hailing Australia as the ideal strategic partner for India which is currently looking towards a transformative and inclusive growth, he asserted that with both India and Australia facing belligerence from China, there is a huge potential for greater business and trade initiatives, especially for Australia which is on the look-out for a potential alternative foreign market for its exports. Having identified 12 key sectors for strategic alliances between both the countries, Wadhwa further said that there is vast scope for Indian businesses to fortify ties with Australia in the areas of mining of resources, agribusiness, health care, cancer research and trials, education, renewable energy, tourism and digital technology. There is especially scope for collaborative projects in infrastructural development, joint manufacturing in space and research, cloud computing and financial and cyber technology.
He also opined that the traditional Indian exports of pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, automative spare parts, railway equipments, refined petroleum and textiles along with Indian traditional medicine which has off-late gained popularity in the Australian market should be ramped up. Emphasising the need for Indian companies to invest more in Australia, he remarked the figures for India’s goods and services exports which was predicted to be 5 billion dollars in 2015, is slated to surge to 35 billion by 2035.
He further talked about the crucial role that Australia’s critical minerals sector can play in supplying the essential minerals to India even as the latter aspires to strengthen its industrial production and robust infrastructural development. Moreover, he said that with India permitting 100 % Foreign Direct Investment in the renewable energy sector, Australian energy sector should capitalize on this opportunity. He also delineated the pivotal contribution that Australian vocational institutes could play in not only imparting valuable skills to Indian students but also equipping the trainers with the requisite expertise in making the learning process more effective. As far as the implementation of his recommendations are concerned, Ambassador Wadhwa strongly feels that a special working group comprising officials from the Trade and Foreign Ministry of both the countries along with other experts in the area, should be formed and concrete policies should be put in place to ensure that the suggestions are channelized practically. Progress also needs to be done in removing trade and investment barriers by both the governments to streamline the process of bringing India and Australia closer together in trade and business, a process which was set in motion since the successful culmination of the virtual summit between both the countries on 4th June, 2020 in which the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Australia came into fruition. Last but not the least, he also recommended the commencement of direct flights between the two countries.
Peter Varghese, Former Secretary DFAT who wrote the report An India Economic Strategy to 2035 in 2018 seconded Ambassador Wadhwa’s opinion about the time being ripe for India and Australia to strengthen their business and trade discourse. He commented that although the Covid-19 pandemic had a drastic effect on the Indian economy resulting in the slowing down of its economic growth, it will still continue to grow at a fast pace as it begins to emerge from the debilitating effects, in the post-Covid era. Thus, it is all the more significant that no momentum should be lost in the implementation of the recommendations in both his and Wadhwa’s reports. Recognising the significance of the burgeoning Indian diaspora in Australia, he commented that despite Indian migration particularly that of Indian students to Australia slowing down and picking up no sooner than the end of 2021, the people-to-people ties between the two countries shall continue to be a valuable asset in the long run. Remarking on the pivotal role of the tourism sector in increasing revenue for both the countries, he said that while there will be an inevitable delay in the materialization of the prospects offered by the tourism sector, the eventual outcome will indeed be propitious.
Furthermore, according to his observation, the involvement of Australia’s corporate sector in India has still not reached the level that it should have because of the former’s reservations against the latter in the backdrop of a growing environment of protectionism and self-sufficiency in many countries across the globe. He also stressed upon the need for the materialization of a mutual Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Australia which would play an instrumental role in removing the roadblocks on the path to greater business and trade engagements between the two countries. Commenting on the Indian National Education Policy, he also said that the question of potential internationalization of Indian education must also be taken into account and also that the opening of branches of Australian universities in India might see the light of day once the authorities concerned have satisfactorily inspected the legislative and other framework.
The webinar concluded with Australian High Commissioner Barry O’ Farrell and his Indian counterpart Gitesh A. Sarma averring the need for conducive economic reforms in both the countries for an enduring partnership, and business literacy across the corporate sector in both the countries so that both comprehend the changed economic scenario following the Covid-19 pandemic where diversification and resilience of supply chains has become paramount. Shaun Star, Director, CIAS, O.P. Jindal Global University delivered the Vote of Thanks to the event organisers as well as the participants and asserted the significance of the webinar as a timely and illuminating discourse in paving the way for strengthening the economic, political and social ties between India and Australia.