India Australia Relations

Introduction:

India and Australia have several commonalities, which serve as a foundation for closer cooperation and multifaceted interaction. Both are strong, vibrant, secular and multicultural democracies. They both have a free press and an independent judicial system; the English language is an important link. Cricket is a significant element in awareness at the popular level.

Historical Contacts:

India and Australia have commercial ties dating back to the 18th century, when India played a central role in nourishing the young colony and trade with Australia came to be an important element in the operations of the East India Company in Bengal. In 1792, in only the fourth year of the infant penal colony, when the supply ship �Guardian� sank leaving the colony without supplies, it was to Calcutta that the Governor looked for immediate help, dispatching the 'Atlantic' to bring back all the food and stores it could carry. The 'Atlantic' returned, with a cargo of rice, wheat and lentils.

Australia's first shipments of coal were to Bengal in 1799, from Newcastle.

For the next half century, Australia's most immediate and direct links were with India rather than London, as bureaucrats, merchants, chaplains and judges, moved between the two colonies. By 1840 a ship was leaving Sydney for India roughly every four days, and merchants in Calcutta grew rich from supplying the new outpost.

India was an important source of food and provisions for Australia; it was also a source of retired 'colonials', bringing Anglo-Indian furniture and architectural styles and a taste for spicy food. At the beginning of the 19th century, several British colonial families from India made a life for themselves in the new Australian colonies.

The Consulate General of India in Sydney was first opened as a Trade Office in 1941 and the first High Commissioner arrived in Canberra in 1945. The Consulate General of India in Melbourne was opened in 2006. The Consulate General of India in Perth was inaugurated in October, 2011.

Visits:

There have been several visits at Head of Government and Head of State level. Prime Minister R.G. Menzies visited India in 1950. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Australia in May 1968. Australia's Governor General Sir John Kerr visited India in February-March 1975.

Prime Minister Morarji Desai visited Australia for a CHOGM summit in February 1978. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was Chief Guest at Republic Day in January 1979. He also paid a transit visit in August 1981. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Australia again in October 1981 for a CHOGM summit.

Prime Minister Bob Hawke visited India in 1983 for a CHOGM summit. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Australia in 1986 on a bilateral visit. Prime Minister Bob Hawke visited India in February 1989 for a bilateral visit. Prime Minister John Howard visited India in July 2000 and again in March 2006.

There have been a steady exchange of ministerial level visits in the past few years, especially at the level of Foreign Minister. EAM Mr. Pranab Mukherjee visited Australia in June 2008 for the Foreign Minister's Framework Dialogue. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith visited India in September 2008, when it was agreed to take relations to its next level and work towards a strategic partnership.

EAM Mr. S.M. Krishna visited Australia in August 2009. After visiting Cairns for the Pacific Island Forum's - Post Forum Dialogue, bilateral interactions with Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and PM Kevin Rudd. Mr. Krishna also visited Sydney where he met Premier Nathan Rees of New South Wales, Indian students and the Indian community; Mr. Krishna also visited Melbourne, where, apart from his interactions with Indian community and students, he met Premier John Brumby of Victoria, and the Victorian Minister of Education, Jacinta Allan.

2009 saw several Ministerial level visits from Australia�s side many of them connected with the students issue. Senator Chris Evans Minister for Immigration and Citizenship visited India in July 2009; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Ms. Julia Gillard visited during August � September; in September � Trade Minister Simon Crean; Treasurer Wayne Swan; Victorian Premier John Brumby. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith visited India during the month of October.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited India during the month of November 2009, when it was agreed to take the relationship to a strategic partnership . A Joint Declaration on Security Co-operation was also signed.

Ministerial visits in 2010 from India have been of Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mr. M.K. Alagiri to Brisbane in March to discuss the possibility of joint ventures in fertilisers. Minister for Human Resource Development; Mr. Kapil Sibal visited Australia in April for the India-Australia Ministerial Dialogue on Education; Minister of Power Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde visited Australia in June to participate in the first Australia-India Energy and Minerals Forum; Mr. Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs visited Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne to meet Ministers and the Indian community and students; Ms. Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs visited Sydney and Melbourne in August; she interacted with the Indian community and Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne, where she also visited the Blackburn Gurdwara. Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia visited Australia to deliver the R.K. Narayanan Lecture at ANU and also visited Sydney and Melbourne. He had interactions with many senior state and federal government officials.

Ministerial visits from Australia in 2010 include Minister of Resources, Energy and Tourism Mr. Martin Ferguson who visited India in February; Foreign Minister Stephen Smith visited India during March 2010 followed by Trade Minister Simon Crean in May 2010. Senator Mark Arbib, Minister for Sport, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Governor of Victoria, Prof. David de Kretser visited New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games in September - October 2010.

Ministerial visits from India during 2011 include that of the External Affairs Minister Mr. S.M.Krishna in January 2011 who met Mr. Kevin Rudd at Melbourne as part of the Annual Foreign Minister�s Framework Dialogue. The Minister of Textiles Mrs. Panabaaka Lakshmi visited Melbourne and Canberra in February 2011 to enhance India�s collaboration with Australia in the wool sector. Mr. R.P.N. Singh Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas visited Perth in February 2011 to launch IX round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP ) of the Government of India. Mr. Anand Sharma, Minister for Commerce & Industry visited Australia in May 2011 for the 13th session of the Joint Ministerial Commission. At the conclusion of the JMC, the two sides agreed to commence negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which has now begun. India and Australia also announced formal launching of the CEO Forum with Mr. Navin Jindal, MP as co-chair on the Indian side and Mr. Lindsay Fox as co-chair on the Australian side. Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, former President of India visited Sydney in May 2011 at the invitation of the University of Sydney and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the University. EAM, Mr. S.M.Krishna again visited Australia in October 2011 for pre-CHOGM Foreign Ministers Meetings in Perth. Vice President of India, Mr. M.Hamid Ansari represented India at the CHOGM 2011 held in Perth.

Ministerial visits from Australia to India during 2011 were : Dr. Craig Emerson, Minister of Trade during the month of January. He participated at CII�s Partnership Summit 2011 and he also held bilateral discussions with his counterpart Mr. Anand Sharma, Commerce and Industries Minister. Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science & Research visited India in July, 2011. Senator Chris Evans, Australian Minister for Tertiary Education visited India in August, 2011 for the 3rd Annual Ministerial Dialogue on Educational Cooperation. Mr. Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources, Energy & Tourism visited India in November, 2011. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd visited Bengaluru in November 2011 to attend the IOR-ARC Council of Ministers' meeting. Defence Minister Stephen Smith visited India in December 2011 for the inaugural Defence Ministers� Dialogue. Mr. Bill Shorten, Minister for Workplace Relations & Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation visited India in December, 2011.

The regular exchange of high-level Ministerial visits has been important in taking the relationship forward. Several MoUs and Agreements have been signed.