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Former Australian PM lauds India's manufacturing base; says China needs to be replaced in supply chain
Abbott also stressed the need to replace China in the supply chain, saying "India has a very sophisticated manufacturing base."
India-Australia Strategic Alliance and Indian Business Consortium this week hosted a special dinner for former prime minister of Australia, Tony Abbot in Delhi to celebrate the recently signed free trade agreement between both the countries. It was also organised to honour former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who lauded the historic trade deal between India and Australia, the official release stated.
According to the statement, the celebration was attended by 150 top entrepreneurs and business leaders from both India and Australia. This includes Indian industrialist Naveen Jindal who is the chairman of Jindal Group and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Tiwari as special guests.
During the dinner, Abbott praised the joint efforts by the countries' leaders; especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart, in strengthening diplomatic and strategic relations. He also made a special mention of commerce minister Piyush Goyal and Dan Tehan, trade and tourism minister of Australia.
Abbott also stressed the need to replace China in the supply chain, saying "India has a very sophisticated manufacturing base."
The event comes as India and Australia are working to develop strong partnerships on all fronts, especially on trade. On April 2, both countries signed a comprehensive interim free-trade agreement that permits zero duty trade on several items and Abbott is the key architect of the deal.
Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia's ninth largest trading partner. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) is expected to almost double the bilateral trade from USD 27.5 bn (2021) to about USD 45 to USD 50 Billion in the next five years.
The trade agreement also unlocks huge opportunities for exports of automobiles, textiles, footwear and leather products, gems and jewellery, toys and plastic products in India. Largely, India imports key raw materials and intermediates from Australia and exports finished products.
The event was facilitated by Dr Jagvinder Singh Virk, chairman of the India-Australia Strategic Alliance. It was organised by founding members of the Indian Business Consortium.
