Union Minister of Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal has identified Indo-Australian relations as ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ on 11th February 2022 while addressing a press conference after both countries signed MoU on tourism cooperation in the field of tourism in New Delhi. He has also expressed hope for a jump in the bilateral trade between the two countries.
Piyush Goyal signed the MoU with Dan Tehan Wannon who is the Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment. The aim of this agreement is to facilitate bilateral relations in tourism and the exchange of information and data related to the sector between the two countries.
According to a press release by the Press Information Bureau, the ministers of both countries have announced reaching an understanding of the Interim Agreement and finalizing it in the next 30 days. The India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is expected to be concluded in 12 months thereafter.
While speaking in the press conference, Piyush Goyal said “Every free trade agreement always concludes with the ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ more moment. And many of you have seen the movie Dil Chahta hai which is shot largely in Australia. You will appreciate that the Dil Chahta Hai moment today was also covered in the CECA FTA and tourism MoU that we have both executed today.”
India-Australia are working towards a ‘Dil Chahta Hai Free Trade Agreement’ post which our bilateral trade is expected to see a quantum jump. 🇮🇳 🇦🇺
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 11, 2022
📖 https://t.co/gz4UcwKV4d pic.twitter.com/UbfKqvooIS
He further said, “I must thank the Ministry of Tourism led by the honorable minister Kishan Reddy and the Tourism Secretary Mr. Arvind Singh and of course the officers from Dan’s side. These officers and Arvind Singh have put in a lot of effort and I thank them for that. I think we will continue to demand more from each other and that is what friendship is all about. I am sure that the bilateral trade which is currently about 20 Billion Dollars is going to take a quantum leap after this agreement.”
The PIB has also informed that the two nations are expected to sign the Interim Agreement in March 2022. The areas covered under the interim agreement should include goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs procedures, and Legal and Institutional issues. The CECA would be a substantial opportunity for both economies and a significant moment in the India-Australia bilateral relationship.
