June 25, 2018
At the meeting, the ministers emphasized the need for growth in bilateral trade and investment and discussed how mutual strengths could be augmented to boost economic modernization
While Mr Prabhu shared the experiences of India’s reform journey, Mr Ciobo hailed the contribution of the Indian origin community to Australia’s economy and multicultural fabric
The leaders agreed to increase two-way business delegation activity, including Australia bringing a high level business delegation to India focusing on infrastructure, logistics and aviation
The ministers reaffirmed commitment to a high quality Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), following a 28 per jump in bilateral trade to US$18 billion during FY 2017-18
India’s Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, co-chaired the 15th session of the India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission with the Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steven Ciobo, in Canberra on June 25. At the meeting, the ministers emphasized the need for growth in bilateral trade and investment and discussed how mutual strengths could be augmented to boost economic modernization. While Mr Prabhu shared the experiences of India’s reform journey, including GST implementation, competition policy, insolvency and bankruptcy acts, and ease of doing business initiatives, Mr Ciobo pointed at the positive impact of growing people-to-people exchanges, hailing the contribution of the Indian origin community to Australia’s economy and multicultural fabric.
The ministers also underscored the critical role of the private sector. They discussed the importance of Australian and Indian businesses engaging directly to identify practical solutions and communicating them to the respective Governments. The leaders agreed to increase two-way business delegation activity, including Australia bringing a high level business delegation to India focusing on infrastructure, industrial corridors, logistics and aviation. They further discussed about mutual market access in certain products of interest to both countries. The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a high quality Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between the two countries. This follows a 28 per cent year-over-year jump in bilateral trade to US$18 billion during the financial year 2017-18.
During his visit, Mr Prabhu also met the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcom Turnbull. Discussion between the leaders focused on transfer of technology and expertise related to solar power generation and storage and utilization of power. Mr Prabhu had a bilateral meeting with Treasurer, Government of Australia, Scott Morrison. They shared their respective experiences in tax reforms and issues arising out of the increasing dominance of digital modes of payment. He also met with David Littleproud, Australian Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. The two ministers discussed plans to share information about respective agricultural initiatives and explore possibilities of investments by Australia in the area of agriculture related infrastructure in India. Additionally, Mr Prabhu met local business leaders.