The last such virtual summit between the two leaders took place in June 2020. At that time, amid the covid crisis, it was the first such virtual summit PM Modi had with any foreign leader.
One of the key focus areas during the summit will be the interim trade agreement. India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan had met in Delhi last month and announced that the interim trade pact will be concluded in 30 days’ time and will cover areas of interest for both countries. Both countries have decided to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 12-18 months’ time.
In 2018-19, the trade between the two countries was around US$ 21 billion. Australia’s cumulative investment in India is about $10.74 billion whereas India’s total investment in Australia is $10.45 billion.
It is part of a series of trade pacts India has been signing. Just last month India and UAE signed FTA during the India-UAE virtual summit. Canadian trade minister had visited India last week as both sides announced the re-launch of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations.
The India, Australia summit comes in the backdrop of fast-paced geopolitical changes with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, firming up of Quad grouping which includes India, Australia, US, and Japan, and an aggressive China in the Indo Pacific.
Both PM Modi, and Australian PM were part of a virtual Quad meet that took place earlier this month at the request of the Americans. The India, Australia summit will happen a few days after Japanese PM Fumio Kishida visits India on March 19. This will be the maiden visit of Fumio to India in his capacity as the Prime Minister.
While this is the second virtual summit, both leaders have met 4 times in per pandemic times. First on the sidelines of East Asia Summit (EAS) in Singapore in November of 2018, then on the sidelines of G20 in Osaka in June 2019, on the margins of G7 Summit in Biarritz in August 2019, and on the margins of EAS in Bangkok in November 2019. Domestically the summit comes just a few months before Australia’s federal elections. The elections are scheduled for the first half of 2022.
