The Australian Government is working to advance Australia’s free trade agreement negotiations with India and the European Union (EU).
I was pleased to meet with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr Piyush Goyal, and my EU counterpart, Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, in the margins of the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Geneva.
During my meeting with Minister Goyal, we reaffirmed the strong and close economic relationship between Australia and India.
I confirmed the Australian Government’s intention to work efficiently though Australia’s parliamentary processes to ratify the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) quickly, so we can deliver immediate trade benefits for our countries.
Minister Goyal and I also committed to move rapidly to commence negotiations on the full Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and capitalise on the enormous potential for closer economic ties between Australia and India.
In a very productive meeting with Commissioner Dombrovskis, we discussed the important economic and strategic relationship between Australia and the European Union, which has been strengthened through our close cooperation in addressing Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
We discussed our shared interest in concluding an ambitious free trade agreement, and in exploring new avenues for cooperation on climate and energy.
A free trade agreement with the EU would open valuable export opportunities for Australia – the EU bloc is a AUD24 trillion (USD17 trillion) economy of 450 million people.
India and the EU are key economic and strategic partners for Australia, and the Australian Government is committed to using our trade links to strengthen these partnerships.
