India Australia firm up series of initiatives to boost ties
New Delhi Mar 21 PTI India and Australia on Monday firmed up a series of new initiatives in the areas of critical minerals clean energy mobility of students and tax benefits for investments in sovereign funds at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison The Australian side unveiled a total investment of around Rs 1500 crore in certain key sectors as the two sides vowed to further energise their ties including in the Indo-Pacific region The two strategic partners decided to set up a young defence officer exchange programme to boost military cooperation and announced the setting up of a task force to examine whether the two sides could recognise the same educational qualifications The exchange programme has been named after Indias first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat who was killed in a helicopter crash in December Underlining the importance of unlocking untapped potential in bilateral trade and investment Modi and Morrison agreed that the two sides should attempt to conclude the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement CECA at the earliest The two sides also announced establishing a mechanism of annual summits between the two countries that is aimed at creating a structural system for regular review of the relationship At a media briefing Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said a memorandum of understanding MoU signed by Indias Khanij Bidesh India Ltd KABIL and Australias Critical Minerals Facilitation Office will facilitate establishing a framework for joint investments in Australian projects to mine critical minerals This is an important area for both our countries and this agreement will give us the opportunities to both invest in Australias critical minerals sector and get Australian expertise in this area he said India has been looking at boosting cooperation with Australia in areas of critical minerals with that country having a significant source of lithium cobalt and vanadium considered crucial for the manufacturing of critical electronic components The two sides also firmed up a letter of intent to work towards a migration and mobility partnership agreement A separate letter of arrangement was inked for examining the educational qualifications recognition Another MoU was signed for cooperation and collaboration on broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and the Special Broadcasting Service SBS of Australia In his opening remarks Modi said remarkable progress has been made on CECA in a very short time I am confident that the remaining issues will also be agreed upon soon The early completion of CECA will be crucial for our economic relations economic revival and economic security he said There is also good cooperation between us in Quad Our cooperation reflects our commitment to a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific Quads success is very important for regional and global stability Modi said Morrison said an interim CECA will help to unlock new opportunities and benefits for the countries It will bring us closer to a full agreement as soon as I hope we can achieve that Australian High Commissioner Barry OFarrell on Sunday said the interim or the early harvest trade pact will be inked by end of this month Modi said that overall ties witnessed significant progress in the last few years Trade and investment defence and security education and innovation science and technology — we have very close cooperation in all these areas Our collaboration has grown rapidly in many other areas such as critical minerals water management renewable energy and Covid-19 research he said A statement by the Australian government said the two countries will establish a task force to develop qualifications recognition arrangements for Australia and India to enhance two-way mobility The task force announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will address the recognition of online and blended learning joint degrees and offshore campuses it said Australias acting minister for education Stuart Robert said the task force would consult with stakeholders to identify opportunities for the recognition of Australian and Indian higher education qualifications and to make recommendations to improve arrangements based on best principles and practices in recognition Shringla said the two sides also agreed to increase cooperation between Indias National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and Australias Future Fund which is a sovereign wealth fund We are willing to match the tax benefits Australia gives to its sovereign and pension funds once they invest in India he said In his remarks Modi also welcomed the announcement of the establishment of the Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy in Bengaluru It is imperative that we have better cooperation between us in cyber and critical and emerging technologies It is the responsibility of countries with similar values like us to adopt appropriate global standards in these emerging technologies he said PTI MPB SMN SMN
New Delhi Mar 21 PTI India and Australia on Monday firmed up a series of new initiatives in the areas of critical minerals clean energy mobility of students and tax benefits for investments in sovereign funds at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison The Australian side unveiled a total investment of around Rs 1500 crore in certain key sectors as the two sides vowed to further energise their ties including in the Indo-Pacific region The two strategic partners decided to set up a young defence officer exchange programme to boost military cooperation and announced the setting up of a task force to examine whether the two sides could recognise the same educational qualifications The exchange programme has been named after Indias first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat who was killed in a helicopter crash in December Underlining the importance of unlocking untapped potential in bilateral trade and investment Modi and Morrison agreed that the two sides should attempt to conclude the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement CECA at the earliest The two sides also announced establishing a mechanism of annual summits between the two countries that is aimed at creating a structural system for regular review of the relationship At a media briefing Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said a memorandum of understanding MoU signed by Indias Khanij Bidesh India Ltd KABIL and Australias Critical Minerals Facilitation Office will facilitate establishing a framework for joint investments in Australian projects to mine critical minerals This is an important area for both our countries and this agreement will give us the opportunities to both invest in Australias critical minerals sector and get Australian expertise in this area he said India has been looking at boosting cooperation with Australia in areas of critical minerals with that country having a significant source of lithium cobalt and vanadium considered crucial for the manufacturing of critical electronic components The two sides also firmed up a letter of intent to work towards a migration and mobility partnership agreement A separate letter of arrangement was inked for examining the educational qualifications recognition Another MoU was signed for cooperation and collaboration on broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and the Special Broadcasting Service SBS of Australia In his opening remarks Modi said remarkable progress has been made on CECA in a very short time I am confident that the remaining issues will also be agreed upon soon The early completion of CECA will be crucial for our economic relations economic revival and economic security he said There is also good cooperation between us in Quad Our cooperation reflects our commitment to a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific Quads success is very important for regional and global stability Modi said Morrison said an interim CECA will help to unlock new opportunities and benefits for the countries It will bring us closer to a full agreement as soon as I hope we can achieve that Australian High Commissioner Barry OFarrell on Sunday said the interim or the early harvest trade pact will be inked by end of this month Modi said that overall ties witnessed significant progress in the last few years Trade and investment defence and security education and innovation science and technology — we have very close cooperation in all these areas Our collaboration has grown rapidly in many other areas such as critical minerals water management renewable energy and Covid-19 research he said A statement by the Australian government said the two countries will establish a task force to develop qualifications recognition arrangements for Australia and India to enhance two-way mobility The task force announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will address the recognition of online and blended learning joint degrees and offshore campuses it said Australias acting minister for education Stuart Robert said the task force would consult with stakeholders to identify opportunities for the recognition of Australian and Indian higher education qualifications and to make recommendations to improve arrangements based on best principles and practices in recognition Shringla said the two sides also agreed to increase cooperation between Indias National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and Australias Future Fund which is a sovereign wealth fund We are willing to match the tax benefits Australia gives to its sovereign and pension funds once they invest in India he said In his remarks Modi also welcomed the announcement of the establishment of the Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy in Bengaluru It is imperative that we have better cooperation between us in cyber and critical and emerging technologies It is the responsibility of countries with similar values like us to adopt appropriate global standards in these emerging technologies he said PTI MPB SMN SMN
