India President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday met Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Sydney, where they signed five agreements related to enhance cooperation and boost investments in key functional sectors like education, agricultural, disability and research.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said during Kovid’s visit to Australia, in presence of Australia foreign minister Marise Payne and minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship Anantkumar Hegde, five agreements were exchanged and signed by High Commissioners of both the countries.
First agreement was for disability sector, to deliver services to disabled and to enhance the cooperation. Second agreement was between India and Austrade for bilateral investment.
Third agreement was to foster innovation and scientific collaboration for the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute of Ranchi, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization. Fourth one was for agricultural development between the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, and the University of Western Australia, Perth. The last and fifth one was for the education sector between Indraprashta Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi, and the Queensland University of Technology.
During the meeting, Morrison announced the decision of Australia’s response to the “India Economic Strategy”. Morrison said, “This report provides a roadmap for our economic future with India.”
Trade minister Simon Birmingham said, “Our work will focus on greater economic engagement targeting 10 Indian states and 10 key sectors, while providing practical support for Australian businesses entering or expanding operations in India.”
It also announced the Australia-India Food Partnership with opening new set ups and opportunities for service company and agri-tech, and also grants about Australian $500,000 funds to Australia-India Strategic Research Fund.