FTA between India, Australia will 'Atmanirbhar Bharat': Deputy High Commissioner Storey

Sara Storey, the deputy high commissioner of Australia to India, stated on Friday that her nation is pleased that India opted to sign a free trade deal with them and that this will undoubtedly help the ‘Make in India’ or ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative of the Indian government. “We are proud that the government of India chose to do free trade agreement with Australia. Now 96 per cent of Indian goods enter Australia tariff-free and 86 per cent of Australian goods enter India tariff-free. This will support the ‘Make in India’ Program for competitive Indian goods. We all believe in this relationship and there is so much more that we can do,” Storey told ANI. Sara Storey went on to say that the connection between the two countries has evolved into a strategic and all-encompassing alliance. The World Test Championship (WTC) final, which is currently taking place at the Oval in London, was screened live in special fashion on Friday at the Australian High Commission in the nation’s capital. “The World Test Championship Final is showing us excellent competition. We have top-tier teams playing each other,” Storey said. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra stated in May that the negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and the deadline for the negotiations between India and Australia are scheduled for June and July. After the recent introduction of the India-Australia ECTA (Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement), he claimed that the talks had advanced quickly and very well. “All I understand is the next couple of rounds of CECA negotiation is planned for…I think one in June and one in the month of July. You would’ve noticed and perhaps appreciated the fact that ECTA was only launched very recently and within such a short time, the discussions have progressed from not only full utilisation of the benefits that are available to the business community under ECTA but also to start talking about on how these can further be built upon through comprehensive economic cooperation agreement,” Kwatra said during a special press briefing on PM Modi’s Australia visit. On December 29, 2022, the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAusECTA) went into force. The ECTA was drafted on April 2, 2022, ratified on November 21, and exchanged in writing on November 29. The Agreement entered into force after 30 days. In order to include the CECA, India and Australia are currently negotiating the expansion of their economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA). (With agency inputs) Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.