Roving Periscope: PM Modi invites Australians to invest in India
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday invited Australian investors to take advantage of investment opportunities in India in key sectors like semiconductors, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, and others.
PM Modi, who arrived in Sydney on Monday for the third and final leg of his three-nation tour, is visiting Australia as a state guest. On Tuesday, he addressed a massive audience of Indian origin at a stadium in Sydney and later held a bilateral meeting with a delegation led by his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
Addressing the CEOs of leading Australian companies at a business roundtable in Sydney, he suggested they forge partnerships with their Indian counterparts.
Talking about a series of economic reforms undertaken by his government, he invited them to invest in sectors like digital infrastructure, IT, fintech, telecom, semiconductors, space, renewable energy, education, pharmaceuticals, healthcare including medical devices manufacturing, mining including critical minerals, textile, agriculture, and food processing, said Arindam Bagchi, spokesman, Ministry of External Affairs, in a tweet.
The government has taken steps like reducing the compliance burden, introducing the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and easing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms.
PM Modi also held bilateral meetings with Hancock Prospecting Executive Chairman Gina Rinehart, Fortescue Future Industry Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest, and AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder.
From April 2000 to December 2022, India received USD 1.07 billion in investments from Australia, according to government data.
The two democracies have already implemented an interim Free Trade Agreement (FDA) on December 29, 2022, and are now engaged in widening its scope into a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that is expected to significantly expand bilateral trade ties.
Australia was the 13th largest trading partner of India in 2022-23. While exports stood at USD 6.95 billion, imports from there aggregated at USD 19 billion.
India is Australia’s largest export market for gold and chickpeas, the second-largest for coal and copper ores, and the third-largest market for lead and wool. Key imports from Australia include coal, copper ores, concentrates, and petroleum.
In a media statement, PM Modi highlighted the significance of India-Australia cooperation and said it is crucial for regional peace, stability, and global welfare.
During his bilateral talks with PM Albanese on Wednesday, the Indian leader raised serious concerns over the recent incidents of attacks on Hindu temples in Australia and activities of pro-Khalistani elements in that country.
“Prime Minister Albanese and I have in the past discussed the issue of attacks on temples in Australia and activities of separatist elements. We discussed the matter today as well,” PM Modi said.
“It is not acceptable to us that anyone hurt the friendly and cordial ties between India and Australia by their actions or ideology,” he said while thanking PM Albanese for taking action against those involved in such incidents.
“Prime Minister Albanese assured me once again today that he will take strict actions against such elements in the future also,” PM Modi said. Referring to the frequency of his meetings with the Australian counterpart, he said it reflected the depth of the India-Australia relationship.
“This is our sixth meeting in the past one year. It reflects the depth of our comprehensive relations and the maturity of our ties. In the language of cricket, our ties have entered the T20 mode,” PM Modi said, adding the two sides also held constructive discussions on strategic cooperation in areas of mining and critical minerals. In the talks, they also decided to focus on cooperation in areas of green hydrogen.
In his statement, PM Albanese announced that Australia will open a new Consulate-General in Bengaluru.
Ahead of the talks, PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial guard of honor at the Admiralty House in Sydney.
