Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit India on March 8 for a three-day state visit where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sign the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) deal.
“At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, will pay a State Visit to India on 08-11 March 2023. He will be accompanied by Senator Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism, and Madeleine King, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, along with senior officials and a high-level business delegation,” the ministry of external affairs said in a press release.
This is the first time Albanese is visiting India as a prime minister. He will arrive on March 8 in Ahmedabad and visit Mumbai and New Delhi the next day. He will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan on March 10.
The India-Australia annual summit will be held on March 10 and following that the Australian Prime Minister will also call on President Droupadi Murmu.
The ECTA will allow Indian businesses to export goods on all tariff lines to get access to the Australian market with zero customs duty. “The agreement will result in immediate market access at zero duty to 98.3% of tariff lines accounting for 96.4% of India’s exports to Australia in value terms. The remaining 1.7% lines are to be made zero duty lines over 5 years. Overall, Australia is offering duty elimination on 100% of its tariff lines,” the commerce ministry said in a statement earlier in January.
India will benefit from the preferential market access which Australia shall provide and this will include all the labour-intensive sectors of export interest to India, such as gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, furniture, food, and agricultural products, engineering products, medical devices and automobiles.
India will also offer preferential access to Australia on over 70% of its tariff lines, including lines of export interest to Australia, which primarily constitute raw materials and intermediaries such as coal, mineral ores and wines.
Both leaders will also discuss enhancing the defence partnership between both countries.
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