India-Australia FTA yielding astonishing results, says Australian envoy Philip Green

Indo-Australian trade flourishes with ECTA, increased exports, and potential collaboration in building Amaravati, says Australian High Commissioner.

Indo-Australian trade is on a great trajectory owing to the recently floated Free Trade Agreement – Economic Cooperation and Tradement (ECTA) and the exports from India to Australia have gone up substantially. Australia is actively explorieng possibilities in building Amaravati capital city in Andhra Pradesh (AP), said Australian High Commissioner Philip Green.

Speaking to The Hindu, before meeting the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati, Mr. Green said, “Last five years, India’s exports to the world have gone up by about 37% but in the same period, India’s exports of goods to Australia were up by 66%, nearly twice as much.”

The results of the recently signed ECTA ( Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement) are astonishing. There is a 77% utilisation rate by traders and key sectors in the last four months of this year, Indian exports of apparels reportedly have gone up more than 20%, iron and steel up by 25%, agriculture exports up by 30%.

Mr. Green, explaining the purpose of his visit to Amaravati, said that he came to congratulate Mr. Naidu as for his landmark victory and wish him another term as CM. The visit is also aimed at exploring development opportunities in Amaravati capital. “We can talk about number of sectors where Australia has interest in engaging - Education, Agriculture, water management, Green Energy Supply Chain etc. You may know, Canberra, the capital of Australia was developed from three sheep farms. And it’s now one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. I’ll be listening very carefully to what Chief Minister Mr. Naidu has to say on the plans for Amaravati,” he said.

Australia is also focused on export of clean coal, critical minerals for green hydrogen, green battery manufacture, green steel, iron ore and solar panels needed for roof tops. “Mr. Modi wants over ten million roofs with solar panels across the country which is a huge opportunity for Australia,” Mr. Green said.

He lauded the contribution of Indian diaspora in Australia in the fields of IT, business and other services sectors. Indian community constitutes over one million, out of 26 million population of Australia. “It’s the fastest growing community in our country. Last year, over 1,00,000 visas were issued to people from India,” he said. He also wished that the diaspora should play a positive role in the bilateral relations.

Commenting on the geo-political scenario, Mr. Green opined that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is clear breach of international law by a country which in the Security Council. “Russia has signed multiple treaties with Ukraine to protect its territorial integrity. Rules based world is worried about larger countries invading smaller countries. So, what Russia has done in Ukraine is for us unconscionable and we will continue our strong support to Ukraine,” he stressed.