Shri Arun Jaitley,
Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, has
emphasised the need for boosting of trade and investment between
India and Australia from the current level. In his opening statement
at the 8th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission
(JMC), here today, Shri Jaitley said that there was need to
diversify the basket of export items and increase investment
in important sectors like information technology, bio-technology,
energy and minerals. He also emphasised that economic liberalisation
process in the country would continue to offer good prospects
for increasing bilateral trade as well as Australian investment
in India. He also pointed to the immense investment potential
in India in the sectors of telecom, road & highways, ports,
airports, tourism and manufacturing. Mr. Mark Vaile, Australian
Minister for Trade and Co-Chairman of the India-Australia JMC,
in his opening remarks, underlined the importance and vast scope
of fostering closer economic and commercial ties between India
and Australia in both existing and new areas. Shri Dipak Chatterjee,
Commerce Secretary; Shri Vinay Bansal, Additional Secretary,
Ministry of Commerce & Industry; Ms. Penny Wensley, Australian
High Commissioner to India and senior officials of both the
countries were present at the meeting.
Shri Jaitley said
that information technology had provided a good platform to
bilateral trade and IT-enabled services could provide for far
greater collaboration between the two countries. He raised issues
relating to quarantine and inspection of agricultural and marine
products to Australia. The Australian Minister agreed to resolve
this issue to remove the constraints owing to the Australian
Quarantine Regulations. Mr. Vaile apprised the Indian side of
the opportunities of investment available in Australia and urged
them to take advantage of it.
Indo-Australian
trade during April-October 2002-03 has increased by 4.24% at
US $ 1003.96 million. India’s exports to Australia during the
same period grew by 19.37%. The cumulative investment from Australia
to India has reached US $ 1.87 billion till October 2002. Both
the Ministers stressed the need to explore possibilities to
further enhance the trade and investment between two countries.
Referring the informal
meeting of the WTO Ministers in Tokyo last week and the road
to Cancun, Shri Jaitley said that India would continue to engage
with its concerns on issues such as market access and &
agriculture and non-agricultural (industrial) goods & services
and the Doha development issues including implementation and
special & differential issues and TRIPs.
The 3-day (February
17-19) India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission meeting
will conclude tomorrow with the signing of the Agreed Minutes
by both the Ministers.
