Highlights
- India is Australia's eighth-largest trading partner
- Two-way trade with India was valued at over $30 billion in 2018-19
- After China, Singapore and Indonesia, India is the fourth country, Australia has signed the CSP with
Prime Minister Scott Morrison held the first virtual summit with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Thursday.
It was evident from the first minute, the two leaders share a warm camaraderie, with PM Modi lamenting the circumstances under which they were being forced to meet virtually.
"We were eagerly looking forward to your visit to India, first in January, and then last month. However, unfortunately, both the times your visit had to be postponed. We have to say that this virtual meeting could not possibly replace your visit to India as a friend, my request to you is that once the situation improves, you will plan a visit to India along with your family and allow us to host you," PM Modi said in his opening remarks.
PM Morrison reciprocated with a Namaste and said he wanted to try out 'Khichdi' after he made the samosas over the weekend.
"I will be able to share my samosas, which I thank you for. We had a bit of fun with that over the weekend. So next time it will have to be the Gujarati khichdi which I know is a favourite of yours," PM Morrison said.
But once the friendly banter was done, the two countries announced they had signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
"Today Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I announced a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) between Australia and India.
"The CSP takes our bilateral relationship to a new level of cooperation, based on mutual understanding, trust, common interests and the shared values of democracy and the rule of law," PM Morrison said after the summit.
What does the comprehensive strategic partnership mean?
Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, who is a Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Programme at the Mumbai-based think-tank Gateway House told SBS Hindi, the virtual summit will broaden the scope to work together in almost every sector.
“The two countries have signed nine agreements in this virtual summit and elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This means that they are committed to deepening their bilateral relationship and there will hardly be any sector where they will not collaborate or trade or work together,” Amb. Bhatia told SBS Hindi.
Listen to the podcast:
Main takeaways:
1. Collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region:
The two countries have committed to work together in the Indo-Pacific region.
"Our partnership is in line with India's increasing engagement in the Indo-Pacific region through her Indo-Pacific vision and Australia's Indo-Pacific approach and its Pacific Step-Up for the South Pacific," PM Morrison said.
"Our Foreign and Defence Ministers will meet in a ‘2+2’ format at least every two years to discuss strategic issues and take forward our Partnership.
"By further strengthening our partnership, we also contribute to a more secure, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific."
2. Enhancing Science, Technology and Research Collaboration:
India and Australia will boost collaboration on science, technology and research to support their national COVID-19 responses.
"We have committed to a new phase of the Australia–India Strategic Research Fund to promote innovative solutions for responding to and treating COVID-19, as well as other jointly determined priorities, to be preceded by a one-off Special COVID-19 Collaboration Round in 2020," the Joint Statement said.
3. Economic Cooperation:
The two sides committed to expanding trade and investment flows to the benefit of both economies.
"In view of the remarkable growth in the trading relationship between India and Australia, both sides decided to re-engage on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)," the Joint Statement says.
4. Education, Culture, Tourism and People-to-People Ties:
Australia and India will work together to support the development of education campuses in each other’s countries.
"Both countries agreed to hold a senior-level dialogue to discuss India’s proposed draft Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement, which outlines ways to cooperate on the prevention of illegal migration, people smuggling and trafficking in human beings and is also designed to facilitate mobility of students, academics and researchers and migration for professional and economic reasons," the Joint Statement says.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are seen on a conference screen during the 2020 Virtual Leaders Summit between Australia and India Source: AAP
After China, Singapore and Indonesia, India is the fourth country, Australia has signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said stepping up the relationship would build trust even further between the nations.
"In a time like this, we want to deal very much with friends and trusted partners, and this is a partnership which has stood the test time and again," he told the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via videolink on Thursday.
PM Modi later said it was an outstanding discussion, describing Mr Morrison as a dear friend.
"With (the) comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Australia, we aspire to achieve yet new heights in our collaboration," he said.
PM Morrison was scheduled to visit India in January 2020 to meet with the Indian leadership, businesses and deliver the keynote address at the eminent Raisina Dialogue.
It was meant to be Mr Morrison’s first visit to India after becoming the Prime Minister but it was called off at the last minute due to the bushfire crisis.
Follow SBS Hindi’s special coverage of first Australia India virtual summit
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
Testing for coronavirus is now widely available across Australia. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
The federal government's coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe is available for download from your phone's app store.
SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus
