Mumbai: India’s expanding trade partnerships with Australia, the UK and New Zealand are opening up opportunities across goods, services, investment, sports, critical minerals and agriculture, with officials from the three countries on Friday highlighted the complementary strengths of their economies.
Australian Consul General in Mumbai Paul Murphy said trade between India and Australia should be viewed as a two-way relationship, with both economies offering products, expertise and capabilities that can help meet each other’s needs.
“For us, we see trade as a two-way street. We recognise the complementarity between the Indian and Australian economies,” Murphy said, adding that Australia cannot efficiently produce everything it needs, while India’s large population has diverse needs and aspirations that Australian businesses can help address.
The Australian official said the two countries are also expanding cooperation beyond traditional trade areas. Referring to the Australia-India Sports Collaboration Roadmap, he said the partnership covers a wide range of areas and is already translating into practical cooperation.
Scientists from CSIRO have been working with Indian researchers to assess India’s resource base and explore the utilisation of minerals such as lithium. Murphy noted that Australia is the world’s largest exporter of lithium and has a wide range of other critical minerals that could offer investment opportunities.
Turning to the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), R.K. Mishra, Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, said the pact is India’s most ambitious trade agreement and covers areas including investment, people mobility and services.
“The key feature of this agreement is that it is India’s most ambitious trade agreement,” Mishra said, adding that 99 per cent of Indian products will now face zero duty in the UK.
New Zealand also sees considerable potential for cooperation with India, particularly in agriculture. Graham Rouse, New Zealand Trade Commissioner and Consul General for India and South Asia, pointed to the significant difference in apple productivity between the two countries.
He said the average apple yield per hectare in New Zealand is around 50,000 tonnes compared with about 8,000 tonnes per hectare in India, while the production seasons of the two countries are complementary.
(IANS)
