Aussie Crashes
to Record Low of 0.74 cents as Turnbull Woos Modi
India
and Australia inked six pacts including one aimed at boosting counter-terrorism
cooperation after talks between Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull
on 10 April.
The
two leaders held comprehensive discussions on bilateral, regional and
international issues of mutual interest and concern.
The
two sides inked a pact to boost counter-terrorism cooperation which was signed
between the Ministry of Home Affairs and its counterpart Australian ministry.
While
Modi noted that Australia was ready to supply uranium
to India, Turnbull said his government was looking forward to exporting uranium
to India “as soon as possible“.
Turnbull
arrived Delhi on 9 April on a four day visit, his first to the country after
assuming office in 2015.
Highlights
The
Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, paid a state visit to
India from 9 to 12 April 2017 at the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
The
Prime Ministers underscored the vital role of people-to-people links and
especially of the vibrant Indian-origin community in Australia, which makes a
strong contribution to Australian society and to the growing bilateral
relations. Australia is a growing destination of choice for Indian students,
and the New Colombo Plan is building the knowledge of hundreds of young
Australians of India.
Recognising
that an economically prosperous Indo-Pacific region is underpinned by stability
and security, the two leaders underscored the importance of respecting the
maritime legal order based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS). Both leaders recognised that India
and Australia share common interests in ensuring maritime security and the
safety of sea lines of communication. Both leaders recognised
the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful
commerce, as well as resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means, in
accordance with international law, including UNCLOS.
The
Prime Ministers committed to deepening the bilateral defence
and security partnership. They welcomed the significant progress achieved
through the bilateral Framework for Security Cooperation agreed in 2014. The
two countries have achieved a broad-based defence and
security partnership, which continues to expand.
They
also welcomed the Indian Ocean Rim Association’s (IORA) Declaration on
Countering and Preventing Terrorism and Violent Extremism, adopted at the IORA
Leaders’ Summit. India and Australia already cooperate closely on
counter-terrorism through the bilateral Joint Working Group on
Counter-Terrorism.
The
two Prime Ministers welcomed continued and deepened trilateral cooperation and
dialogue among Australia, India and Japan. They agreed to invest in trilateral
consultations with third countries to enhance regional and global peace and
security.
The
two Prime Ministers underlined the need to address the challenges of irregular
migration, people smuggling and human trafficking. Both countries are committed
to preventing the abuse and exploitation of migrants and refugees at the hands
of smugglers and traffickers.
The
two Prime Ministers welcomed both countries’ increased engagement with ASEAN,
including recent milestones and achievements in their respective relationships,
forthcoming Leaders’ Summits in both countries with ASEAN, and noted the
growing strategic importance of South-East Asia. They recognised
ongoing cooperation in other regional bodies such as the ASEAN Regional Forum,
and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+),
and the Asia Europe Meeting. Prime Minister Turnbull reiterated Australia’s
support for India’s membership of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum
(APEC).
The two Prime Ministers agreed that shared prosperity
and growth prospects are best served by an open, global trading system and a
rules-based international, order. India and Australia are keen to secure a
timely conclusion of a high quality Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP). RCEP can provide a boost to regional economic confidence in a time of
global uncertainty– but to do so it needs to deliver commercially meaningful
outcomes for business. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the
conclusion of a commercially meaningful Comprehensive Economic Cooperation
Agreement (CECA), which addresses the priorities of both sides.
Prime
Minister Modi welcomed the passage of the Civil
Nuclear Transfers to India Act through the Australian Parliament and both Prime
Ministers anticipated commercial exports of Australian uranium could begin
soon, opening up a new avenue for Australia to support Indian electricity
generation.
Prime
Minister Turnbull briefed Prime Minister Modi on the
Australia-India mining partnership at the Indian Institute of Technology-Indian
School of Mines (IIT-ISM), Dhanbad. Partnership
activities with Australian institutions include research and development
collaboration, training and technology transfer.
An
increasing number of Australians are coming to India to study, including under
the New Colombo Plan, through which more than 1790 undergraduates have sought
the opportunity to study and intern in India since 2015.
The
Prime Ministers celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Australia India
Strategic Research Fund (AISRF). Since its establishment, the two governments
have committed over $100 million (Rs 500 crore) to
the AISRF and the program has supported some 300 collaborative activities
including joint projects, workshops and fellowships.
The
two Prime Ministers were pleased that Australian universities were partnering
with the Indian Government to establish an Indian National Sports University.
The
two Prime Ministers were pleased to build on longstanding collaboration in the
health sector through an MOU and committed to continue cooperation in this
field.