AIBC Australia-India Address a Huge Success – Kevin Rudd’s Message
The 2009 Australia India Business Council (AIBC), Australia-India Address held on 10th August in Sydney was attended by over 500 people, reflecting the huge effort put in by the new AIBC NSW President to reenergise AIBC. Among the event guests were MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Trade Anthony Byrne, Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh, Indian Consul General Amit Dasgupta, NSW Premier Nathan Rees, State Leader of Opposition Barry O’ Farrell and one Day Cricketer of the year Nathan Bracken.
Speaking on the occasion AIBC NSW President Dipen Rughani said, “Commerce is the way forward for these two countries and it will take the bilateral relationship to new heights. We see tremendous support across the board for this and with Free Trade Agreement, floodgates are about to be opened.” Highlighting the AIBC Industry chapters and MOUs with companies, Dipen said AIBC was the conduit for trade with India.
Sujatha Singh termed the visit of Indian Foreign Minister as excellent and said he had a very good meeting with the Prime Minister in Cairns discussing entire range of bilateral issues including student issues. She said, “This is the first time an Indian external affairs minister has visited Australia within 3 months of taking over.”
She admitted, “Just 3 months back after Indian elections I had spoken on the growing Indian Australian relationship. What I did not realise then was how suddenly and quickly the students issue would occupy centre stage and for so prolonged space as it has.”
Speaking candidly on student issues she said, “There are many reasons why it continues to get the attention it deserves. We have had in Indian Parliament, 17 parliamentary questions on student issue alone in a single day. Resolutions have been passed by State Legislative councils in Punjab and Haryana. Each state has an ministry for overseas affairs which is asking tough questions to Indian consulates and High Commissions. Each Australian MP who has an Indian in their constituencies will know what I am talking about. The fact is in response to public litigation, Supreme Court has passed an order specifying that the High Commission of India should instruct students what they can expect and provide student advisories. We have become the first High Commission in the world to be given such an order by the Supreme Court. The biggest challenge is to ensure there is no breaking news from Australia to India on its 24 x 7 TV Channels.”
She added, “Students from each region of India have special needs and requirements. External Affairs Minister was extremely reassured that Indian students who have come to Australia will get what they have been promised. Experience that these people will have in Australia will determine and shape perspectives in India. Popular attention in India is riveted around Australia and can’t think of a better time for high level visits. The present issues have to be seen not as a challenge but as an opportunity. We need to take Australia to the forefront of Indian bilateral relationships as well.”
Nathan Rees was showing no signs of tension after rumours of challenge to his leadership in the Labour party and mingled freely with the audience. He said, “India played its first cricket test after independence in Brisbane. NSW has 15,000 Indian students who are welcome guests. We attract a 3rd of all visiting students and want to become the epicentre of Indian students in Australia. We need to weed out the minority who give a bad name to majority.” Speaking on the growing trade he said, “We have sent 9 investment missions to India after establishment of DSRD. Just over a year, athletes from 60 countries will march to Nehru stadium and companies from NSW have been involved in building many of these facilities.” Nathan Rees had special appreciation for Arun Jagatramka, who he said had become a local hero in Illawarra after he sponsored the local Wollongong Hawks club and that we needed more stories like that.
Anthony Byrne MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Trade delivered the Prime Minister’s message at event and also gave his own speech on the occasion. He said, “Australia and India are both nations of the Indian Ocean and our strategic interests increasingly intersect, especially in the Asia Pacific. We have had a solid history of cooperation in the fight against terrorism through the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, which was established by a memorandum of understanding in 2003.”
Referring to the Doha Round he said, “We share an interest in opening up the world economy to freer trade and investment flows. Australia strongly supports the finalisation of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization. We see that step delivering a positive stimulus to the global economy and a blow to the protectionist cause. Australia welcomed India’s decision in February to re-open its dairy market to Australia’s products. India’s restoration of that A$6 million market at a time of global recession and rising protectionism was well received.”
Speaking about the attacks on Indian students he said, “I deplore the recent attacks on Indian students here and I share a sense of outrage at the stories of unscrupulous educational providers preying on foreign students.” Overall, we exported almost A$3 billion in services to India last year, and we are also keen to develop this sector. About half of this was in providing education services to nearly 100,000 Indian students who are currently studying here. Over the past 18 months, several Australian ministers, including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, have visited India or stopped over to talk to their counterparts there,” he added
He also spoke about the $8 million approval for funding the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne which would provide a bridge between the two nations by increasing Australian understanding of India’s culture and history. He said, “The Australia India Institute will be a wonderful cultural resource for generations of scholars. It also reflects the importance we place on the contribution to our national life by the estimated 240,000 Indians living in Australia.”
PRIME MINISTER KEVIN RUDD’s MESSAGE
Australia’s bilateral relationship with India is one of great depth, strength and significance. 
It is a relationship to which the Australian Government is committed and which we are determined to take to a new, higher level: to the frontline of our international relationships.
Trade with India has grown faster than with any of Australia’s other major partners over the past five years.
In recent times, we have taken deliberate steps to extend the relationship, including through strengthened defence engagement, progression of the feasibility study into a Free Trade Agreement, strengthened cooperation in the resources and energy sector and a new Australia-India Roundtable to foster academic dialogue.
In September last year, our foreign ministers agreed to work towards taking relations to the level of a “strategic partnership”.
I look forward very much to visiting India later this year to discuss with the Prime Minister how we can lift relations to such a level through closer cooperation in economic and trade, security, environment and other spheres, and how we can best engage on a long-term strategic basis in both countries’ interests.
The Australian Government recognises and welcomes India’s great economic success, rise as a great power in the international community, and integral role in the shift of global economic, security and strategic power to the Asia-Pacific.
We recognise also – and are determined to seize on the opportunities created by – the complementary nature of our economies and our shared wish to play constructive roles in regional and world affairs.
The strong and growing relations between us are not, of course, based solely on the efforts of governments.
They are based also on strong personal links, including through business; the Australian Indian community, which contributes significantly to Australia’s development; and the large number of Indian students in Australia, who are welcome guests in our nation.
My Government has made clear our distress at the recent cases of violence and mistreatment of some international students in Australia, and our determination that all relevant authorities do all we can to bring the perpetrators to justice, protect students and others in the community and safeguard Australia’s reputation as a safe destination for international students seeking a high-quality education.
I thank both the Indian Government, including the Indian High Commissioner to Australia, and the Indian community for their ongoing constructive engagement with us to help address this issue.
The Australian Government looks forward to continuing to work with the Government of India, the business community and others as we further strengthen our existing strong cooperation, address the challenges that arise from time to time and seize the opportunities that exist for both our countries in developing a truly strategic partnership for the 21st century.
PM’s message was read out by Anthony Byrne, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade
Similar Posts:
- Peter Varghese speaks at AIBC Reception
- Aussie scholarships on offer for Indians
- Gloom and Doom is an Opportunity – Dipen Rughani
- India-Australia: Can the two countries establish a special relationship?
- Back to Future for Australia and India
