The high ministers of India and Australia on Friday expressed concern over an “decreasingly uncertain global security terrain” and committed themselves to strengthening their defense and security cooperation to insure stability in the Indo- Pacific. Still, a much larger Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has been stuck in accommodations for more than a decade.
Conversations between the countries renewed in 2011 but were suspended in 2016 as the addresses were gridlocked. Both countries are working to strengthen the quadrangle, an alliance of Australia, India, Japan and the United States that aims to fight China’s rising influence in Asia. “We also agreed on an early conclusion of our ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible and I’m hopeful that we will be suitable to finalise that this time,” Albanese, who’s on a three- day visit to India, told journalists.
“This transformational deal will realise the full eventuality of the bilateral profitable relationship, creating new employment openings and raising living norms for the people of both Australia and India”. Bilateral trade between the countries was at $27.5 bn in 2021 and India says trade has the eventuality to nearly double to $ 50bn in five times under the ECTA. In the 2022 financial time, India was Australia’s ninth-largest trading partner and they hope to double trade in the coming five times. India’s exports to Australia totalled $8.3 bn and revenues from the country stood at $16.7 bn in 2021-22, according to the profitable think tank Global Trade Research Initiative. India and Australia are security mates through the quadrangle group, which also includes the United States and Japan.
The alliance is seen as a bulwark against China’s fierceness in the Indo- Pacific region. Albanese’s visit included a Thursday event on board the INS Vikrant, India’s first home-made aircraft carrier, where he blazoned new common service drills. Albanese flies out of New Delhi on Saturday morning and will host Modi in Australia for the coming quadrangle leaders’ meeting in May.
