State Visit of Prime Minister of Australia to India (April 09-12, 2017)
Strengthening relations further, Prime Minister Turnbull and Prime Minister Modi have had substantive meetings on the margins of the G-20 in Antalya in 2015 and in Hangzhou in 2016.
By Rekha Bhattacharjee
April 06, 2017. Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable Mr. Malcolm Turnbull, MP., is paying a State Visit to India at the invitation of our Prime Minister from 9 to 12 April.
This would be Prime Minister Turnbull’s first visit to India. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott had visited India in September 2014 and this was followed by our Prime Minister’s visit to Australia in November that year.
Prime Minister Turnbull and Prime Minister Modi have had substantive meetings on the margins of the G-20 in Antalya in 2015 and in Hangzhou in 2016.
The Australian Prime Minister will begin his visit with a ceremonial guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 10th April followed by wreath laying at Mahatma Gandhi’s Samadhi at Raj Ghat. External Affairs Minister will call on him and this will be followed by restricted and delegation level talks between the two Prime Ministers. He will also call on Hon’ble President and Hon’ble Vice President. The Prime Minister will host a banquet in honour of the Australian Prime Minister and his delegation.
Prime Minister Turnbull will also visit Mumbai where he will meet the Governor of Maharashtra and attend several events, including an interaction with key business leaders and an energy roundtable.
India-Australia relations today cover a very wide canvas stretching from defence and security cooperation to environment, water management, sports, energy and education. This visit will build on the work done since the visit of our Prime Minister to Australia and give direction to the numerous institutional mechanisms that have been set up to carry the relationship forward.
The India-Australia relationship is more robust and multi-faceted than it has ever been before and both Prime Ministers and both Governments are committed to carrying this forward. Reflective of this breadth of engagement, a number of MoUs and Agreements are to be firmed up covering Security, Environment, Sports, Science & Technology, Health, etc.
In keeping with the vast potential that both sides see in economic and commercial engagement, a high-level business delegation is also expected from Australia. Australia has invested about US$7 billion in India.
Education and skills development is a key area of our engagement with Australia. More than attracting Indian students to Australia, this encompasses cooperation between educational institutions in both countries, joint research, tie-ups between Government and non-Government entities in India with technology centres in Australia. The extent of this bilateral engagement will be in full view during the visit with a large number of tie-ups in this sector. A high-powered delegation from the education sector
will be accompanying the Australian Prime Minister during the visit.
Cooperation in renewable energy, clean coal and bio-fuels will also feature during the visit.
The Australian Prime Minister Turnbull’s maiden visit to India
PM Turnbull is on a four day visit starting on the 9th April 2017.
A press release stated “In New Delhi, PM Modi and I will discuss enormous opportunities for collaboration between Australia and India. With converging political, economic and strategic interests, we will use the meeting to strengthen our relationship even further for the benefit of both nations”.
At the Sydney Institute on eve of his departure for Papua New Guinea then to India, Prime Minister Turnbull also highlighted the opportunity for the Australian universities to provide education services to some of the 400 million people the Indian Government wants to train by 2022. Coinciding with PM Turnbull’s visit, Australia’s Education and Training Minister Simon Birmingham is bringing a team of educationalists ”“ 23 University Vice Chancellors to India. Australia can see the opportunities for Australian universities. The Australian PM high lighted Educational
Services to millions that government of India wishes to train by 2022.
Together with Mr Birmingham, the Prime Minister will address a dinner convened to celebrate Australia’s knowledge partnership with India. In New Delhi, the Prime Minister will call on the President and Vice-President of India and meet with his counterpart, Mr Modi, to discuss areas in which the two countries can strengthen their collaboration. The two Prime Ministers last met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in China in September 2016.
Turnbull said he will discuss with Prime Minister Modi the “enormous opportunities” for collaboration in areas like trade and security. “With converging political, economic and strategic interests, we will use the meeting to strengthen our relationship even further for the benefit of both nations. Alongside China, India is a land of immense opportunity for Australia”, Turnbull said, “With a growth rate at more than 7 per cent annually, the Indian economy could be as large as that of the United States by 2050.”
Trade between Australia and India has doubled to more than $20 billion in the past 10 years and the nation of 1.2 billion is on track to see its economy, which is growing at 7 per cent a year, to draw level in size with the United States by about 2050.
“India is undergoing a dramatic economic transformation and our close partnership creates opportunities for both nations,” Mr Turnbull said. Australia is well placed to power a booming Indian economy because of its abundance of natural resources including coal, uranium and natural gas, according to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull also highlighted the vibrant Indian community which he said was making a significant contribution to the fabric of Australia’s multicultural society. “It provides a vital bridge between our two countries, and this
visit will ensure that the ties between India and Australia become even stronger,” he said.
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