Tony Abbott calls for 'swift' India-Australia trade deal to boost long-term prosperity

Tony Abbott, Australia's special trade envoy for India and a former Prime Minister who visited New Delhi last week said that a free trade agreement between his country and India would signal the "democratic world's tilt away from China." Abbott stated in an article published in The Australian newspaper, "trade deals are about politics as much as economics, a swift deal between India and Australia would be an important sign of democratic world's tilt away from China, as well as boosting the long-term prosperity of both our countries."

India is Australia's seventh-largest trade partner

Despite tariffs and reciprocal perceptions that neither nation is usually a suitable place to do business, Abbott said India is now its seventh-largest trade partner, with annual two-way trade of approximately 30 billion dollars. Both countries are now beefing up their negotiating teams in the hopes of reaching an "early harvest" trade agreement by the end of the year, which would be a significant step toward a far larger alliance.

Abbott went on to say that, with the world's other developing powerhouse getting increasingly hostile by the day, it's in everyone's best interests for India to take its due place among nations as soon as possible. He stated that India has resurrected the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the first in-person Quad meeting likely before the end of the year.

He stated, "India and Australia are like-minded democracies whose relationship had been under-developed, at least until Narendra Modi became India's Prime Minister. Under Modi, India has revived the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, and the first in-person Quad summit is expected before the end of the year. Under Modi, India has invited Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercises that will soon involve India, the United States, Japan, Australia and also the United Kingdom's visiting carrier strike group led by the Royal Navy's new flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth."

Abbott about China

Former Australian PM also stated that the fundamental issue is that China's formidable power is the result of the free world's decision to include a communist dictatorship in global economic networks. Abbott was Prime Minister when China and Australia signed a bilateral free trade agreement in 2015, which went into effect the following year. He also hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit a year ago. Relations have deteriorated since then, with Australia barring Huawei from critical communications infrastructure projects, forbidding covert foreign meddling in Australian politics, and seeking an independent inquiry into the origin of COVID-19 pandemic.

(Inputs from ANI)

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