India-Australia comprehensive trade pact to double commerce in five years: PM Modi

Sydney: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Australia, said that India and Australia are working on a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that will double bilateral trade in the next five years.

New Delhi and Canberra have already signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) to support two-way commerce. "We are building a resilient and reliable supply chain. This will strengthen the business of both countries." It is the first trade agreement between the two countries in over a decade. According to government data, India received $1.07 billion in investments from Australia between April 2000 and December 2022.

Australia is India's 13th-largest trading partner. Exports to Australia in 2022-2023 stood at $6.95 billion and imports from the island nation stood at $9 billion. India is Australia's largest export market for gold and chickpeas, the second-largest market for coal and copper ores, and the third-largest market for lead and wool.

He added that the air connectivity between India and Australia has increased and the number of flights will go up in the future.

PM Modi is visiting Australia as a guest of the Australian government and he was speaking at a community event at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena. Earlier in the day, he met business leaders of top Australian companies in the city and called for enhancing cooperation with the Indian industry in technology, skilling, and clean energy. He met with Hancock Prospecting Executive Chairman Gina Rinehart, Fortescue Future Industry Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest, and Australia Super CEO Paul Schroder.