26 May 2023, NIICE Commentary 8640
Bhawna
In the era of constantly evolving power politics, the relationship between India and Australia has been witnessing an upward thrust which is marked by the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Sydney along with other two countries- Japan and New Papua Guinea. The current tour of the country is notably imperative from the geo-political perspective as both the countries have similar strategic interests in the region which can be observed in terms of economics, politics, culture, security etc. The interrelation between the two vibrant, strong, secular, and multicultural democracies has advanced in strength and significance since India’s economic reforms in 1990’s and has expanded in all the areas swiftly for instance- education, defence, science and technology, trade & energy, mining etc. In fact, Australia’s relationship with India is the oldest continuous formal diplomatic tie with any Asian country. And the opening of Consulate General of India for the first time as a trade office in Sydney in 1941 had further consolidated these diplomatic engagements.
From the economic lens, India and Australia are having amiable trade relations with each other and both are getting benefited from the associated economic gains. As per the data released by observatory economic complexity, India exported USD 6.54 billion to Australia in 2021 and the primary commodities are refined petroleum, packaged medicaments, and diamonds however, India did not export any services to Australia but the overall exports of India to Australia have significantly increased at the rate of 10.8 percent annually. Similarly, Australia USD 20.5 billion to India in 2021 which primarily includes- coal briquettes, gold and copper ore. In the year 2021, India was Australia’s sixth-largest two-way goods and services trading partner and fourth-largest goods and services export market and education is India’s largest service export to India which is valued at USD 4.2 billion in the same year.
Likewise, both have shared a common set of interests at political front as well in terms of upholding democratic values and cooperating with each other on a range of issues in the era of constantly evolving political discourse at global level. In the opening remarks of the speech by the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, when he said publicly that- “Modi is the Boss” clearly reflects the aura of India and its leader at the global platform. For the past few years, India has been shaping its global image outstandingly while keeping its national interests and core values parallel to this image. Furthermore, the role of Indian diaspora and the people to people connect both are considered as an important determining factors in strengthening this relationship over the years as India is one of the primary sources of skilled immigrants to Australia and since India is on its way to become the world’s most populous country by 2023, India will remain its largest source of skilled migrants and the second largest source of international students which is consequential in maintaining the strong two-way economic growth in the long-run.
In the realm of defence cooperation, both the countries have been continuously engaging at various levels for instance- (a) the 2+2 ministerial dialogue (b) Mutual Logistic Support Agreement (MLSA) and (c) the Joint military exercises such as “Malabar”. All these engagements are crucial to enhance our defence ties with Australia. In the context of growing significance of the Indo-Pacific region and China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour, the existing relationship between India and Australia becomes strategically even more purposeful. In order to counter the constantly rising hegemonic ambitions of China in the region, India and Australia both have been engaging at several multilateral cooperation such as QUAD, ASEAN Regional Forum, Commonwealth, Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) etc. In fact, being an important player in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Australia is supporting India’s membership of the organisation.
From the security perspective, the growing commitments between both the countries at various levels are essentially significant given the current geo-political eventualities. Of course, there are multiple challenges been associated with respective areas of concern, however both the countries envisage a free, open, inclusive, and rule-based Indo-pacific region and through multiple initiatives, summits, deliberations, and continuous participation at various levels, India and Australia can certainly accomplish their shared vision together in the near future.
Bhawna is a Research Scholar at School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
