A bilateral free trade agreement between India and Australia is currently in the works, owing to a high potential for economic collaboration between both countries in the coming years.
In a joint statement released on Sunday afternoon after the India-Australia 18th Joint Ministerial Commission meeting held at New Delhi, both countries are keen to conclude negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement “as soon as possible”.
In December of 2022, both countries had set up the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). Efforts are now focused on broadening the reach of the ECTA, with the result being the soon to be implemented Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
It is expected that the CECA will foster the creation of new jobs, increase the living standards of citizens and contribute to the improvement of the economies of both countries.
“India-Australia bilateral trade exceeded $31 billion last financial year. Both agreed that given the trade complementarities between the two countries, there is considerable potential for significantly enhancing bilateral trade within the next 5 years,” the statement read.
The statement confirmed that both countries were looking forward to “concluding CECA as soon as possible”.
In attendance at the meeting were representatives from both countries: Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell.
Both ministers also stressed the necessity of a seamless and immediate transition to cleaner energy, as both countries put in the needed effort to achieve their various net zero goals.
