Australia downgrades expectations of Free-Trade Agreement with India

Negotiations with India were supposed to have wrapped up by the end of 2015.

File Photo: Narendra Modi meets Malcolm Turnbull in Turkey, on Nov 15, 2015 Source: Twitter

AAP reports the Australian government is downgrading expectations of a trade deal with the rising economic powerhouse of India in the short term.

Negotiations with India were supposed to have wrapped up by the end of 2015 but now a "stock take" process was underway, Trade Minister Steve Ciobo told Sky News.

Instead, the Australian government's top priority now was securing a deal with another highly populated country, Indonesia.

SBS Hindi earlier this week reported about the meeting between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China.

Mr Modi, who agreed in the 45-minute meeting more needed to be done to move the trade talks along, invited Mr Turnbull to India.

Following this meeting, PM Turnbull has accepted the invitation and will be visiting India in 2017.