Australia, India look to seal comprehensive trade deal by year-end

Sydney, Australia, May 24 (EFE).- The prime ministers of Australia and India, two strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific region, said on Wednesday after meeting in Sydney that they hope to close a comprehensive trade agreement by the end of the year.

Australia and India, the Oceanic country’s sixth largest trading partner, began negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2021, based on a trade agreement between the two countries that entered into force in December last year.

“We reiterated our shared ambition for an early conclusion of the Australia- India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement later this year,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, after their meeting.

Modi said his country hopes to take the cooperation agreement to its highest levels in the next decade, while stressing that India was on its way to become the third largest economy in the world.

The Indian leader, who concludes his three-day visit Wednesday, said he had constructive talks with his counterpart about strengthening cooperation in sectors such as mining and critical minerals.

In 2022, bilateral trade between Australia and India amounted to about AU$46.5 billion Australian dollars ($30.7 billion).

During the meeting, India and Australia also sealed two agreements to strengthen cooperation in the renewable energy and migration sectors, the latter having special importance for Australia over its promotion as a destination for education for foreigners. EFE

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