Australia is an important bilateral partner with shared diaspora, trade and investment

Australia views India as a long-standing, valued and trusted partner, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said.

During a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, Abbott complimented India for undertaking comprehensive and sustained reforms programme.

Abbott is visiting India from 2-6 August 2021 in his capacity as the Australian Prime Minister's Special Trade Envoy for India.

Sitharaman appreciated the credible progress observed in economic and commercial relations between the two countries over the past decade, including elevation of the India-Australia bilateral relationship into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

According to the finance ministry, she also also emphasised that the complementarities between both countries provide immense scope for augmenting the economic relationships.

Sitharaman highlighted that the recent economic reforms and easing of FDI norms in India provide opportunities for Australian investors.

The Australian Superannuation funds have invested in National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and have been invited to look at various opportunities to invest in Indian infrastructure.

A team from Australia can engage with the Indian side to better explore the avenues for investment in National Infrastructure Pipeline projects, the Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested.

Abbott, meanwhile, noted that India had continued to demonstrate robust growth despite the disruptive impact of the pandemic, informed a press release issued by the finance ministry.

He also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation.

Australia is an important bilateral partner of India with strong liberal democracies, shared diaspora, trade and investment.

The finance ministry pointed out that bilateral trade has been growing steadily since past decade and there is immense potential for the two countries to enhance it further in light of the wide spectrum of complementarities and strengths in the post-COVID period.