India-Australia 2nd Virtual Summit
Recently the Prime Ministers of India and Australia organized the 2nd India-Australia Virtual Summit.
A look at the key findings of this summit:
- The two countries agreed to hold an annual summit between the prime ministers, as part of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
- The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was established during the first summit held in the year 2020.
- Australia will invest more than 280 million Australian dollars to enhance cooperation in areas such as clean technology, space and innovation.
- Also, both the countries will finalize a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) at the earliest.
- Prominent among the agreements that were signed during the summit are a Memorandum of Understanding on the Australian Critical Minerals Project between India’s Mineral Videsh India Limited, and Australia’s Critical Minerals Facilitation Office (CMFO).
- Letter of intent regarding migration and movement was signed. Students and professionals will benefit from this partnership agreement.
Areas of cooperation between India and Australia:
- Geo-Strategic: The two countries share a common interest in the Indo-Pacific region. Both envision a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. In addition, both countries are also members of the Quad (QUAD) grouping.
- Trade and Investment: Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at US$ 12.3 billion in the year 2020-21. The total value of two-way foreign direct investment (FDI) in the year 2020 was US$ 1.04 billion.
- Defense and Security Cooperation: This includes- Strategic Partnership, Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, regular military exercises (e.g., AUSINDEX; AUSTRAHIND etc.).
Source – The Hindu
