India-Australia virtual summit: PM Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison will hold the 2nd India-Australia Summit in a virtual mode on March 21, 2022. The summit has come two years after the historic first virtual summit which was held in June 2020 when the two nations had elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
During India-Australia Virtual Summit 2022, the leaders of the two countries are likely to take stock of the progress made on various initiatives under the ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’.
The India-Australia bilateral summit will be held tomorrow, March 21, post the meeting between PM Modi & Australian PM Scott Morrison.
Australia to announce an investment of Rs 1,500cr in India in multiple sectors; largest-ever investment by the Australian government in India. pic.twitter.com/NJtSCAlOZg
— ANI (@ANI)
March 20, 2022
India- Australia Summit 2022: What will be on agenda?
1. Apart from the Russia-Ukraine, Indo-Pacific on the agenda during India-Australia Summit, the two leaders are expected to also commit to closer cooperation in critical minerals, in trade, migration, and mobility, among others.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison will also share their views on the international and regional issues of mutual interest.
3. India-Australia Summit is also expected to witness the largest ever trade pact by the Government of Australia in India with Canberra set to announce worth Rs. 1,500 crores in India across multiple sectors.
4. India and Australia are also expected to conclude an early harvest agreement by the end of this month.
5. During India-Australia Summit, the two countries will sign an MoU in the field of critical minerals. It will help in increasing India’s access to metallic coal and lithium in Australia and will cater to the country’s growing demand for electric vehicles and growing infrastructure.
What is an early harvest agreement between India and Australia?
An early harvest agreement between the Governments of India and Australia is aimed at liberalizing the tariffs on the trade of certain goods between the two nations or the trading blocs before a comprehensive agreement.
India-Australia continued close relations despite pandemic
Despite the widespread COVID-19 pandemic, India and Australia continued their close collaboration in various areas including defence, cyber, science and technology, critical and strategic materials, public administration and governance, and water resource management.
The two leaders had met in Washington DC for the first in-person meeting after the pandemic in September 2021 on the margins of the QUAD Leaders’ summit.
India-Australia Virtual Summit 2020
During India-Australia Virtual Summit 2020, the two countries delivered eight landmark agreements to drive India-Australia cooperation.
It included joint declaration on Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, multiple Memorandums of Understanding on the cooperation in various fields, including mining, cyber technology, public administration, defence cooperation and water resource management.
