External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Sunday shared his views on Indo-Australian relations and discussed how the bilateral relationship between the two nations evolved, highlighting the dedicated efforts made from both countries to strengthen this partnership.
Speaking to the Indian community in Brisbane, he said, “I remember an early conversation with him (PM Modi) in 2014. He asked me that ‘explain to me why hasn’t our relationship with Australia developed?’ Because it has everything going for it. There is a language, share culture, tradition and yet somehow, something is not happening. That day, I did not have an answer perhaps because I myself had not reflected upon it. So, this is a reflection that this relationship did not happen on auto-pilot. People, on both ends, made great efforts to build it.”
At the University of Queensland the EAM outlined the four fundamental elements that have contributed to the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two nations.
“This is my fifth visit to Australia in the last three years… I first came to Australia when I was Foreign Secretary. Yesterday, before I boarded the flight, I launched a book in which they highlighted seven crucial friendships of India, Australia was one of them,” EAM said
“And I told the author; that if he had written the book 10 years ago, I am not sure it would have been. I am saying this because I am trying to stress how much this relationship has in the last decade and why has it changed… There are four reasons. One PM Modi, two Australia, three the world and fourth is all of you. That is the reason why the relationship has come a long way,” he added.
Jaishankar discussed the significance of QUAD and Australia’s foundational role in the partnership. He elaborated on the diplomatic implications of their bilateral relations.
He said, “The QUAD ranks right up there and Australia is a founding partner of that mechanism in terms of our bilateral ties. In diplomacy, you come up with words that signal to your own system and to others. When we speak today of a comprehensive strategic partnership, this description has a meaning in bureaucratic terms.
He highlighted the Indian presence in the region, stating that “About 125,000 people of Indian origin live here. I’m told there are roughly 15,000-16,000 students living in this state. What impressed me was that 75% of Australia’s exports to India come from this state… In the last 10 years, we should not treat it as an achievement but as a glimpse of what is possible. What we have done is put in place a framework in which this relationship will grow and foster in the times to come.
He further highlighted the recent developments in educational cooperation, noting, “We have just had the visit of our Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to Australia and I do believe that education and research will play a disproportionate role in the knowledge economy and the era of AI.”
Addressing the Indian diaspora, Jaishankar expressed confidence about India’s trajectory and said, “India will grow. India is growing, but India wants to grow with the world.”
“We are optimistic. There may be problems, but overall, we think the world has goodwill and a desire to work with India. We see a sentiment overall in the world for India to succeed and it’s important we harness that sentiment,” he added.
Jaishankar said that over the past decade, major advancements have been achieved through interconnected initiatives that collectively enhance business operations in the country. These developments encompass streamlined business processes, enhanced living standards, and substantial infrastructure improvements through the Gati Shakti programme.
“In the last 10 years, we believe we have made very significant progress and I would attribute the progress to the fact that we have embarked on a series of efforts which feed into each other, making it much easier to do business in the country, improving the ease of living, radically improving the infrastructure through a program called Gati Shakti, putting in place what has been a remarkably effective digital public infrastructure, improving the quality of governance overall, ensuring the political stability which allows for decisions taken to be implemented in full and for new decisions to build on earlier ones,” he said.
“Today’s India is building 28 kilometers of highway every day, 12-14 kilometers of railway track every day, we had 6 cities with metros a decade ago and have 21 today, and we are planning an additional 39. A decade ago, we had 75 airports, today we are close to 150 and as a result of all of this, has about 1,000 planes on order from the international aviation industry,” he added.
Earlier he posted on X, “Namaste Australia! Landed in Brisbane today. Look forward to productive engagements over the next few days to take forward the India-Australia Dosti.”
Jaishankar is on a five-day visit to Australia from November 3 to November 7, during which he will inaugurate the fourth Indian consulate in the country, located in Brisbane, on November 4.