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NEW DELHI: India and Australia are looking to finalise a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) and arrangements for cooperation in critical minerals by the end of the year, Australia’s outgoing high commissioner Barry O’Farrell, has said.
In his final interview before completing his term at the end of the month, O’Farrell said Australia’s pension funds and banks are keen to invest in India, especially in areas such as infrastructure. In the field of defence and security, the burgeoning partnership between India and Australia “can be and is a deterrent” to all acts of coercion or attempted coercion, he said. Edited excerpts:
How would you look back at your stint in New Delhi and what were the high points in bilateral ties during this time?
I arrived and spoke to HT before we knew what was going to happen in the world. Strategic competition had already grown but the economic disruption was huge. If I was to characterise what I see as the growth in the relationship, it is the fact that just how frank, frequent and trusting the interactions are across the breadth of the relationship – prime ministerial, ministerial, [in] education, defence and commerce. The good news is we have gone through a process of reappraisal, we both understand we share similar views, we have shared interests strategically in our neighbourhood, and that working together, we can help shape the region for the good. The highlight for me was the fact that nine weeks after the lockdown [for Covid-19], we had the Indian prime minister’s first virtual leadership summit, which elevated our relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership with almost a dozen agreements alongside, but importantly, a commitment to reengage on economic cooperation.
In May 2020 [finance minister] Nirmala Sitharaman [spoke of] reform and I don’t think the Indian government has stopped reforming since then. In September 2021, we had the first 2+2 meeting of the foreign and defence ministers. That was the first ministerial visit to India in my tenure and it was very productive. We then had the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in April 2022, followed by the release of our updated Indian Economic Strategy which wasn’t just a booklet, wasn’t just words, but that my government put ₹1,100 crore behind it and that’s when you know governments are serious. In 2023, we had visits in both directions by the prime ministers. In August-September 2020, we were back in [the] Malabar [naval exercise] and that is a symbol of what has continued to be increased – cooperation at a strategic level.
So, all the signs were there – the comprehensive strategic partnership, the economic agreement, the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement which helped with military exercises, the start of broadening of interactions across common areas like cyber and critical technology.
What, in your opinion, are the reasons for the strengthening of the relationship?
From my perspective and from the perspectives of both countries, it’s been a period of achievement and it is in no small part due to the political will of both governments.
Prime Minister Modi’s political will was critical for the delivery of India’s first major trade deal with a developed country in a decade. On our side, we’re seeing back-to-back prime ministers[and] different parties demonstrating the same political will to engage with India. In the past, we’ve had prime ministers that had a start, but of course for a while, we had a revolving door of prime ministers, but we’ve now got prime ministers who are deeply committed to the relationship for all the right reasons, who are buttressed in that support, certainly in Australia, by the [Indian] diaspora that delivers the mortar that builds strength in the relationship. The diaspora is almost a million strong, it’s enterprising, ambitious and influential. It engages in politics in Australia as people do in India. It joins political parties. When I first came to India in 2010, I don’t think many political leaders in Australia understood the growing significance of the diaspora politically in Australia and its desire to seize opportunities in that country, and to participate in its electoral system, where it now is represented in state assemblies and in our national parliament. No prime minister and no premier or chief minister in Australia will be able to ignore India ever again, even if they wanted to.
In education, [the number of Indian students] studying in Australia…is back to pre-Covid levels. We demonstrated through Covid that when students were stuck in Australia, even when there were free flights home, 80% decided to stay in Australia. The debate a few decades ago as to whether it was safe for Indians to study in Australia is now well and truly over. The diaspora is a great strength for both of us, it’s telling Australians about tourist and business opportunities in India, it’s telling India and their relatives and their friends about the quality of Australian schools, universities and opportunities that exist there. I think by and large, it’s going well and part of that ₹1,100 crore that is being invested in the relationship, in addition to opening up our post in Bengaluru and you’re going to have one in Brisbane. The Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR), in addition to doing scholarships, will also start to work on cultural links. You have Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) here, we’ve never had a partner organisation and CAIR will be that part of that.
During Prime Minister Modi’s visit, there was a renewed commitment to convert ECTA into a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) by the end of the year. Do you think that’s doable and do you see any hurdles, such as agriculture, which is a touchy issue in India?
Agriculture is a sensitive issue in every democracy. French farmers riot, British farmers complain, Australian and Indian farmers exercise their political rights. Firstly, in terms of timing, both prime ministers reiterated during their meeting in Sydney, as they did earlier in Delhi, that they’re looking for it to be rapidly resolved by the end of this year. I think it’s more likely the last quarter, and of course, the Indian system wants it done before we move into 2024 and the elections that brings with it. We’ll be looking to build on the market access we achieved in the ECTA, we’ll look to move into newer areas where we’re cooperating in – electronics, renewables, digital trade. As the country that has some of the largest pension funds in Asia, we’re keen to assist in India’s infrastructure mission. [There’s] US$184 million being invested in infrastructure this year, we see the enormous growth of roads. We see other capital works going on and pension funds and banks like Macquarie Bank, that’s already got investments, continue to be interested in not only India’s rate of growth but in the practical application of Australian funds to assist it.
When you’re a democracy, the trade deals…have to be saleable to the electorate. That was the approach we took with the ECTA. That was the discussion that was held very early with Prime Minister Modi about that trade deal, and I think that’s the path on which a future trade deal will be concluded.
Don’t underestimate the significance of the migration and mobility partnership agreement (MMPA) that was agreed on because that puts us at almost the leading edge of access by Indians to Australia. It’s because Covid revealed to Australia that we do not have all the skilled people required to do all the jobs that exist in Australia, and so that agreement is good for India, good for Australia and reflects what’s going on.
You have been upbeat on cooperation in critical minerals and renewables. How much further away are we from seeing something tangible?
I think we will see practical outcomes by the end of the year. KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd) has got a mandate to invest in the securing of offtake agreements for critical minerals in Western Australia. I’ve met at least one Indian company that is there themselves, looking at offtakes and also doing the processing of critical metals in Australia. I think one of the things that helps make it easier for Australia and India to engage in trade deals is because we don’t compete, or we compete in few areas. We have elements to assist India’s growth objectives and we rely on India for our economy, because we’re now largely a services economy in Australia. We do very little manufacturing. I’m happy that Mahindra tractors have been sold in Australia for more than a decade. I have friends who have a Mahindra tractor. Mahindra has recently announced they’ll be selling electric vehicles into the Australian market at a very competitive level and we know it’s just one of many car producers in India, but it’s a further sign that for a country whose wage levels aren’t conducive to [anything] other than advanced manufacturing, and although we’re only 25.5 million people, it’s still a country that India can find markets in.
You spoke about the Malabar naval exercise in terms of defence and security cooperation and the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement. What could be the next steps that could take defence ties to a higher level?
We’re seeing more complex and frequent engagements by all of our forces across multiple exercises, we’re seeing visits in both directions by our chiefs of the respective defence forces. But we are seeing things that a decade ago were unheard of. You had P-8 maritime patrols operating out of Darwin and I had the pleasure to accompany my defence minister on [an Indian] P-8 flight from Goa to Delhi when he visited here in July 2022. What we will see is more complexity occurring, I think trust becomes a habit and [leads to] instinctive collaboration. Even for things like humanitarian disasters – and we forget at times that Quad was formed off the back of the 2004 tsunami – being able and understanding the operating systems of close partners, who have a shared vision for the Indo-Pacific, makes those things easier as do.
In 1963, Exercise Shiksha saw aviators from the air forces of the US, Britain and Australia working with the Indian Air Force, cooperating as we’re doing in peace times these days, but during a difficult time. Simply to send a message to the region that when you know coercion or attempted coercion happens, that working together can be and is a deterrent and it just reinforces the message, whether it’s what we’re doing bilaterally or trilaterally…France has a footprint in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. We’ve seen a British carrier group visit last year…The Quad’s vision for the region is not exclusive [and] it’s built on an adherence to international rules and norms.
Both countries have common concerns on China but some media reports have suggested Australia is looking to rebalance ties with China. Where do you see that going and is that going to be a factor in India-Australia relations?
I think the India-Australia relationship isn’t defined by our relations with any other country. It is a genuine understanding that we have similarities, we have shared visions, we share values and we want to strengthen those. What we’re seeking to do with China, which engaged in some economic coercion against Australia during Covid-19, is to stabilise our relationship. That’s precisely what India’s been doing after [several rounds] of talks about incursions on the Indian border. It’s better to do that, as the US defence secretary said at the Shangrila Dialogue, it’s always the best time to talk. But we’re seeking to stabilise, not normalise, relationships. We will continue to agree where we can. We will disagree where we must. As India has, and as India now knows, Australia’s interactions with that country and all countries will be guided by what’s in Australia’s national interest. I think that’s something that India respects and what we respect about India is that ultimately, we’re countries that are looking out for firstly, our citizens’ interests, and as countries that share what your prime minister said in June 2020 was a “sacred vision” for the Indo-Pacific, we know that working together delivers better outcomes.
Through the Quad and trilateral frameworks such as the one with France, India and Australia have done a lot of work on setting standards for critical technologies and assisting the Pacific Islands. What’s new on those fronts?
None of it’s going to be always new, although the Quad does have a track record of adding critical work to its agenda. But whether it’s infrastructure across the Pacific, whether it’s cyber and critical technology challenges, whether it’s health security – those things continue and we’re getting better at dealing with them. In any operation, there are baby steps and there are bigger steps. What we’re seeing are deeper steps. Last year, the Pacific was threatened by a change of ownership of its communication system. That concerned us all. Australia was one of those that assisted in ensuring that that communication system remains as we want the region to remain – free, open and sovereign. We will always respond to those things. What is great is, since I’ve been here, from the very first meeting I had with the external affairs minister, India’s wanted to do more with Australia in the Pacific. Clearly that is now happening – sharing the load to get relief to countries which suffer from volcanic explosions and the like, but also by your prime minister’s visit to Papua New Guinea, where the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) was an important opportunity for Prime Minister Modi, one of the Quad members but also a significant country in our region, to reassure them of India’s support.
You were among the first to speak out against the activities of pro-Khalistani elements though India has reiterated its concerns about their activities in Australia, the UK and Canada. Is this something that continues to be an irritant in bilateral ties?
It’s an issue that is just as disturbing to the Australian government as it is to the Indian government. We have laws around graffiti and a programme that now extends to Hindu temples in Australia, for the protection and security of places of worship. But it’s an irritant to us because we are a successful multicultural, multi-faith community that has been devoid of this sort of activity. We’re just as keen as India to see an end of it. In Melbourne and Sydney, we had so-called referenda, so-called because they have no legal standing in Australia and here. The numbers that they cite are enormous and I think I would have seen film footage of it if that were true. People have a right in Australia to express their views, they have a right to peaceful protest. In Melbourne, they demonstrated a lack of peaceful protest and a number were arrested and others were being sought. Those arrested as such will be fined. In Sydney, I think there was some police intervention to ensure that we didn’t have any assaults. We’re a country that upholds the values of freedom of speech and freedom of worship. We will continue to use all of our enforcement agencies, as my prime minister has said, to ensure that this movement does not contravene our rules about that and in Australia we have hate speech laws where people have and will continue to be prosecuted if they engage in the sort of language that in my country is unacceptable and that reflects the values that has made Australia one of the most successful multicultural, multi-faith countries in the world.
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