Anthony Albanese, Australian Prime Minister on Tuesday announced that country’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India has passed through its parliament.
Albanese tweeted, “Breaking: Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament.” This occurs shortly after Albanese announced that he will travel to India in March of the following year. On the eve of the 17th G20 conference, he made this announcement.
He addressed the press on Wednesday and said, “I also met with Prime Minister Modi of India, where we discussed the finalization of the closer economic cooperation agreement between Australia and India, which we regard as being very important for expanding the economic relationship between Australia and India. I will visit India in March.”
He added, “We’ll take a business delegation to India. And that will be an important visit and an upgrade in the relationship that we have between our two nations.”
The trade deal with India gives a significant opportunity for Australian service providers and experts to enter the Indian market, according to Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell last week.
“The quality of this Agreement, in terms of market access and opportunity for Australian businesses, demonstrates India’s commitment to our bilateral economic partnership,” Farrell said.
He further added, “India presents unparalleled growth opportunities for Australian business across a range of sectors, from food and agriculture, technology and green energy, to health and education services.”
The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was signed on April 2.
The Australian government claims that the deal will strengthen Australia’s position in the large economy with the highest rate of growth in the world and give Australian companies access to or room to grow in a market with close to 1.5 billion people.