Unfazed by the strong opposition Indian mining giant Adani faced in opening its Queensland coal mine, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan is back wooing India to invest in Australian coal.
Minister Canavan has held a series of meetings with Indian mining leaders including Gautam Adani and affiliated ministries in a bid to grow Australia’s resource exports to India.
One of the first meetings was with Indian mining giant and Adani Chairman, Gautam Adani who said he discussed "new ways to enhance trade relations between India and Australia" with Canavan.
In June this year, Adani’s Carmichael mine in Northern Queensland finally began construction after years of opposition from environmental groups and legal challenges.
On Wednesday, Minister Canavan met with his Indian counterpart, Pralhad Joshi, the Indian Minister of Coal and Mines Industry in New Delhi, saying their meeting about growing Indian investment in Australia’s coal industry was an "extremely constructive discussion".
The ministerial India visit comes on the heels of the release of the Coal in India 2019 report, where the government's chief economist points out opportunities to grow the bilateral coal trade between India and Australia.
Minister Canavan said the focus of his India visit this week was to encourage Indian investment in Australia’s resources sector, particularly coal, LNG and minerals.
“India is Australia’s fourth-largest export market and a key destination for Australian coal and copper. There is enormous potential for Australia to grow its resource exports to India, particularly thermal coal,” he said prior to embarking on the trip.
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‘Our coal is the best coal in the world’
Minister Canavan said in a statement that Australia had the capacity to export the "best coal in the world", in quantities equivalent to three or four new Adani Carmichael-sized coal mines.
“The growth of India’s energy sector is truly astonishing. Since 2000, more than 500 million people have been ‘switched on’ to electricity, with coal providing around 44 per cent of India’s energy mix,” Minister Canavan said.
“However, by 2017 there were still 168 million people living in India who had no access to electricity."
The minister also said Australia's coal exports to India could rival those to China, and that the coal's high energy, low ash content would help India reduce its emissions.
Canavan also met with Mr Piyush Goyal, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry to discuss "opportunities to ensure energy security and strengthen economic cooperation."
In his meeting with the Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, parties agreed to "expand the scope of cooperation on a wider range of energy resources."
Closer to home, the local action group Stop Adani continued to campaign against the Carmichael mine in Melbourne and Sydney, where the group held protests outside the AIG Insurance offices to stop them from insuring the business.
The India Economic Strategy to 2035 report states there is no market in the world with as much potential for increased trade with Australia as India.
Canavan is the first Australian Government Minister to visit India since the May 2019 federal election.
