Sukkar urges AIBC VIC to maintain close relationships with Governments
Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar says the Australia India – Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) will help deliver more Australian jobs and business opportunities for exporters, thereby bringing both countries closer together in a changing strategic environment.
He spoke on the trade pact, signed virtually on 2 April 2022, at the CEO roundtable in Melbourne on 5 May 2022, which was jointly hosted by Deakin University, Australia India Business Council Ltd Victoria Chapter (AIBC Vic) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The trade pact will see 96% of Indian goods imports enter Australia duty-free.
It will also remove tariffs on more than 85% of Australian goods exports to India, worth US$9.4 billion, rising to almost 91% over 10 years.
Tariffs will be scrapped on sheep meat, wool, copper, coal, alumina, fresh Australian rock lobster, and some critical minerals and non-ferrous metals to India.
The event was attended by CEOs and senior representatives of Australian businesses from across sectors. The prime objective of the roundtable was to gather intelligence from senior members of the industry and deliberate on the opportunities that must be considered whilst doing business in India in the light of the ECTA.
“I strongly feel that AIBC VIC should maintain close working relationships with its stakeholders including the Government of India, the Government of Australia and other industry actors. AIBC VIC should continue to work towards building platforms in facilitating and nurturing growth opportunities for business and investment between India and Australia,” said Sukkar.
Jim Varghese, National Chair and Director, Australia India Business Council Ltd, added, “It is encouraging to see AIBC Vic along with Deakin University and CII leading this discussion around the road ahead for Australia India ECTA. Such a discussion is critical in driving an understanding of contemporary India in Australia and fostering business opportunities that Indian businesses have in Australia and vice versa.”
Kean Selway, Executive Vice-President [Futures], Deakin University, said, “As a leading university in Victoria with over 28 years of presence in India, Deakin is in a position to play a leading role in catalysing initiatives such as this roundtable discussion.
“This roundtable is an opportunity for industries, businesses and thought leaders to come together to create channels for ease of doing business for Australian businesses in India and vice versa. With this initiative, Deakin is leading the way in setting the tone and direction for the Australia India bilateral trade relations story.”
The key takeaway from the discussions emphasised the critical role AIBC, CII, Austrade, and AICC play in assisting businesses from both countries and how can help navigate business partnering opportunities across the sectors of importance.
The AI ECTA was signed in a virtual ceremony by Australia’s Trade Minister Dan Tehan and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the virtual ceremony.
To facilitate and promote such bilateral engagements, AIBC has established 17 Industry chapters including the Agribusiness Chapter, ICT and Digital Chapter, Education and Skills Development Chapter, Sports Chapter, Healthcare Chapter, Make in India Chapter, Infrastructure Chapter, Energy Chapter and more.
With the major changes in the Indian Defence procurement process and to facilitate Australian businesses to collaborate, AIBC has recently established a Defence and Security Industry Chapter.
To particularly focus on commercial outcomes arising out of such business interactions, AIBC has established a commercial arm Australia India Business Enterprise (AIBE). Significant commercial opportunities have been identified by AIBE and a few projects have commenced successfully.
Key representatives from industry, business and thought leaders across sectors of importance including D D Saxena (Chairman CII IBF Australia and agriculture sector) Ashok Mysore (Vice President Infosys), Rajiv Mukerji (Vice President Tata Steel), Leigh Obradovic (Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Toll Group), Samir Vora (Executive Director, Adani Australia) and many more participated in the CEO roundtable.
Established in 1974, Deakin University successfully combines excellence in teaching, research and effective partnerships with industry and government to deliver high quality courses and undertake research that makes a difference to the domestic and international communities it serves.
Deakin’s South Asia operations commenced in 1994 at New Delhi, India, making it one of the first overseas education provider to set operations in this region. Here, Deakin engages with the government, industry, and the academia to share its vibrant culture of education and research.
Established in 1986, the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) was founded to foster bi-lateral relations between the two countries. We are the only premier non-profit organisation, with a mission to promote trade dialogue between India and Australia through nurturing and maintaining close relationships in both Australia and India, with Federal and State government agencies, the diplomatic corporations and industry bodies.
The AIBC is a national membership organisation with active chapters in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra and maintains close relationships with federal and state government agencies, the diplomatic corps and industry bodies, and showcases opportunities to the Australian business community through an active program of events.
CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, with over 9000 members from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 300,000 enterprises from 294 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.
For more than 125 years, CII has been engaged in shaping India’s development journey and works proactively on transforming Indian Industry’s engagement in national development. CII charts change by working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of specialized services and strategic global linkages. It also provides a platform for consensus-building and networking on key issues. fiinews.com
