MP Andrew Charlton launched his book ‘Australia’s Pivot to India’ at Delhi’s Habitat Centre last week. ‘Our nations have never been friendlier,’ he said.
India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed last year provides opportunities to Indian students to live, study & work in Australia temporarily after finishing studies.
At the 2+2 ministerial dialogue, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles asserts there has ‘never been a more important time for the 2 countries to be working together’.
Modi said they had discussed increasing cooperation on mining and critical minerals, and would work towards a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
NZ has no formal defence relationship with the USA. It seems a shame India isn’t putting much more effort into strengthening its relations with the countries of South Asia and also with Southeast and East Asia as security & trade complement each other. It was disappointing to many of us outside India that India withdrew from RCEP, the world’s largest trade bloc which accounts for 30% of the world’s population (2.2 billion people) and 30% of global GDP.
Quad without the United States is a bit of a stretch. Europe does not share America’s concerns as far as China is concerned. Would be happy to continue trade and investment linkages absent US pressure. Australia’s own economy is such a good fit with China’s. It has paid a price by raising the pitch, most recently with AUKUS. Concerns in Australia about both the cost and utility of AUKUS. Instead of meandering all over the Asia – Pacific, creating artificial constructs, better for India to focus on the land threat from China. Have a productive conversation about the way forward.
NZ has no formal defence relationship with the USA. It seems a shame India isn’t putting much more effort into strengthening its relations with the countries of South Asia and also with Southeast and East Asia as security & trade complement each other. It was disappointing to many of us outside India that India withdrew from RCEP, the world’s largest trade bloc which accounts for 30% of the world’s population (2.2 billion people) and 30% of global GDP.
Quad without the United States is a bit of a stretch. Europe does not share America’s concerns as far as China is concerned. Would be happy to continue trade and investment linkages absent US pressure. Australia’s own economy is such a good fit with China’s. It has paid a price by raising the pitch, most recently with AUKUS. Concerns in Australia about both the cost and utility of AUKUS. Instead of meandering all over the Asia – Pacific, creating artificial constructs, better for India to focus on the land threat from China. Have a productive conversation about the way forward.