India and Australia in talks to revive negotiations for a free trade agreement
Swarajya - 06 June 2021
India and Australia in talks to revive negotiations for a free trade agreement
In a sign of further deepening of the strong bilateral ties, India and Australia could soon resume the parleys regarding a free trade agreement as per the details shared by Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell, reports Economic Times.
Speaking to Economic Times, O’Farrell said that the official-level discussions are presently on between the two countries to resume talks on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
This gains significance as the talks on CECA have been suspended since 2015 due to disagreement over issues like market access in agriculture and daily products for Australia in India. The discussions had first begun in May 2011. Between May 2011 and September 2015, India and Australia held nine rounds of negotiations.
In the financial year 2021, India’s exports to Australia were worth $4.04 billion, while imports were $8.24 billion. India mainly exported refined petroleum, medicaments, railway vehicles, including hovertrains, pearls and gems, jewellery, and made-up textile articles. Major imports were coal, copper ores and concentrate, gold, vegetables, wool and other animal hair, fruits and nuts, lentils, and education-related services.
