GS Paper II

News Excerpt:

The 6th edition of the Australia-India leadership dialogue was recently held in Melbourne, Australia.

Opportunities identified for India-Australia:

• Renewable energy and decarbonisation:

• • Australia and India can lead a clean tech revolution and become renewable energy superpowers by collaborating on solar, green hydrogen, and other renewable energy forms.
  • They need critical minerals and rare earths for advanced electronics, energy storage systems, electric vehicles, and aerospace technologies.
  • Leaders can maximise the potential of the Critical Minerals Investment Partnership, eliminate supply chain bottlenecks, finance renewable energy projects, and foster a circular economy for innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

• Employment and skills:

• • India aims to create new jobs for its growing population, while Australia faces workforce shortages and a high demand for digital skills. Collaboration between the two countries is crucial for building an empowered workforce.
  • Initiatives like Jobs and Skills Australia and Skill India can activate untapped potential and bridge workforce needs.
  • Governments should engage businesses and civil society on these issues, and a new Free Trade Agreement between Australia and India can address the future of work and skills.
  • Mutual recognition of training and qualifications and streamlining migration can help attain the goal of providing employment and skill development.

• Geopolitical and geostrategic:

• • Australia and India, located in the Indo-Pacific region, are focusing on leveraging their technological capabilities to build trust and enhance cooperation in critical areas like AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and synthetic biology.
  • Both countries can identify promising technologies for partnership, analyse regional institutions like the Quad, assess global security standards, explore public-private partnerships, and understand how both countries can enhance their security and economic prosperity in a future shaped by technology-driven geopolitics.

• People-to-people:

• People-to-people connections are a crucial asset in India's economic strategy for 2035.
• Technology can be an enabler to foster cross-cultural understanding between the two countries.
• Cultural centres should be developed as hubs where technology combines entertainment and culture, offering interactive experiences.
• The stakeholders should explore creating a transformative space at the intersection of technology and culture to drive a more profound cultural connection between Australian and Indian communities.

Challenges in the relations:

• Despite significant strategic and defence engagement, the two countries lack strategic trust, as evidenced by India's exclusion of the Australian Navy from the 'Malabar' naval exercises.
• India-Australia relations are facing challenges such as visa restrictions for Indian students and professionals and concerns over Khalistan supporters' attacks on the Indian diaspora and temples.
• There are differing concerns about China's growing presence in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
• Australia is India’s eighth-largest trading partner, and India is Australia’s fifth-largest. Trade between India and Australia is limited, with around 70% of exports of coal and gold to India.
• Australia's Temporary foreign worker program reforms have caused concern in India, impacting labour mobility and the future movement of skilled workers between the two countries.
• Despite a civil nuclear cooperation agreement, some reservations about exporting uranium to India remain.
• The recent controversy over the Adani coal mine project in Australia has further strained the relationship between the two countries.

Key engagements between India and Australia in 2023:

• The year saw significant progress in various areas, such as the First Annual Leaders Summit, the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), and record-high bilateral trade.
• Additionally, establishing a Little India in Sydney and the new Consulates General in Bengaluru and Brisbane have further strengthened the bond between the two countries.
• Australian university campuses in India, recognition of educational qualifications, and mobility agreements are also positive developments.
• The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), announced in 2020, encompasses a wide range of bilateral frameworks, including the -
• Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue,
• the 2+2 Defence and Foreign Ministers meeting,
• the Trade Ministers Commission,
• Education and Skills Council,
• CEOs Forum,
• Renewable Energy Partnership, and
• several subject-specific Working Groups.

Conclusion:

As strong democracies and dynamic economies of the Indo-Pacific, both countries can make a difference through cooperation on a practical, progressive and sustainable agenda. Together, both countries make a force for global good.

Prelims PYQ

Q. Consider the following countries: (UPSC 2018)

1) Australia

2) Canada

3) China

4) India

5) Japan

6) USA

Which of the above are among the 'free-trade partners' of ASEAN?

(a) 1, 2, 4 and 5

(b) 3, 4, 5 and 6

(c) 1, 3, 4 and 5

(d) 2, 3, 4 and 6