New Delhi: New South Wales Premier Chris Minns will make a state visit to India from 31 August to 3 September, his first overseas visit since taking office in 2023. Minns, along with state Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, will lead an official delegation to India to strengthen economic, educational and cultural ties with one of Australia’s most important international partners.
He announced the four-day mission at an event in Sydney marking India’s 80th Independence Day. The delegation will travel to New Delhi and Mumbai for high-level meetings with government and business leaders. The agenda will focus on attracting investment, expanding trade and creating opportunities for New South Wales companies, while also including community and cultural events.
India was one of New South Wales’ major trading partners and a priority market for future growth, with two-way merchandise trade between India and New South Wales valued at 6.87 billion Australian dollars in the 2024-25 financial year.
The ties extend beyond commerce. India is also one of New South Wales’ largest international education markets, with 28,000 Indian students studying in the state.
In March 2026, about 174,000 Indian visitors traveled to New South Wales, spending roughly 600 million Australian dollars and recording 8.5 million nights in the state.
The delegation will focus on sectors in which New South Wales sees a competitive advantage, including education, research and innovation, agrifood, clean energy, critical minerals, technology, tourism and advanced industries. The government said the mission was intended to help local exporters enter new markets, attract investment and support jobs and economic growth.
The visit will also build on New South Wales’ sister-state relationship with Maharashtra. New South Wales and Maharashtra formally established a sister-state relationship on 2 November, 2012, aimed at strengthening economic, educational and cultural ties.
The partnership has since sought to promote trade, innovation and institutional cooperation between two of the most populous and economically significant regions in their respective countries.
After the India visit, Minns will travel to Kathmandu, Nepal. Mookhey will, however, travel to Bengaluru to continue the delegation’s trade, investment and technology program in India.
“India is one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies and an increasingly important partner for NSW. We want more trade, more investment, more tourists and more opportunities for NSW businesses”, said Minns in a press release ahead of the visit.
Minns said he was proud to make India his first overseas destination as premier, saying the choice reflected the importance of the relationship and the enormous contribution of the Indian community to New South Wales.
Trade ties
The delegation comes as the Minns Labor Government expands efforts to help New South Wales businesses take advantage of the Indian economy.
The government has also introduced the NSW India Business Literacy Programme last week, designed to give exporters and other businesses the knowledge, networks and confidence to operate in the Indian market, according to a ministerial press release.
The programme will initially support companies in the agrifood and clean-energy sectors, which have been identified as priority areas under the Australian government’s Roadmap for Australia’s Economic Engagement with India. It also forms part of the NSW Trade and Investment Strategy, which aims to strengthen export capabilities, diversify trading relationships and help businesses enter high-growth international markets.
The business-literacy program also held a flagship hybrid event in Parramatta Thursday, August 13, with the session livestreamed to audiences in regional New South Wales.
(Edited by Jeyasri AT)
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