India-Australia trade pact will raise bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that the India-Australia trade pact will raise bilateral trade from the present $26-27 billion to $100 billion by 2030, much faster than the initial expectation of rising to $50 billion in five years.

The excitement generated by the agreement has increased business optimism on both sides, he said while addressing the University of Melbourne along with Dan Tehan, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The minister invited Australian businesses to invest in India. “We offer you transparency. We offer you our trust, rule of law. We are two democratic nations, two people who love sports, both are members of the Commonwealth,” he said.

The minister also addressed members of the business community from both countries at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Goyal said India and Australia have complementarities that can benefit both countries, – India’s huge market and Australia’s investible surplus. He said the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) will unlock the huge market of almost 1.4 billion consumers in India to Australian industries.

Goyal said there is huge potential in areas like textiles, pharma, hospitality, gems and jewellery, IT, Startups etc. and Accountancy in Services, that will create huge employment in both countries.

Goyal said that Australia is a preferred destination for Higher Education for most Indians, the IndAus ECTA paved the way for resolution of a big obstacle for India’s IT sector to grow in Australia.

Later, delivering the keynote address at Lunch with Business Leaders, organised by the Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC) in Melbourne, Goyal termed the IndAus ECTA as an important milestone that will contribute to widespread development of multi-sectoral economic value chains.

“I believe that here is a partnership between two countries which don’t compete with each other at all, they actually complement each other,” said Goyal.

“The focus that we are putting on Make in India dovetails so beautifully into the strengths of Australia, the natural bounty that you are all endowed with,” he said.

Complementing the leadership of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison, Goyal said the role of the former Australian Prime Minister and Australian PM’s Special Envoy on Trade, Tony Abbott and Australia’s Trade Minister, Dan Tehan were instrumental in capping the long-pending trade pact between the two nations.

Earlier, paying his tributes to the veteran cricketer, late Shane Warne, the Minister said that he had his admirers in India as well and that millions of cricket fans mourned over the sudden demise of the ‘King of Spin’.

“He was unique in more ways than one,” said Goyal, conveying his deepest condolences to the cricketer’s family and friends.