Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019 | Page 17

Former Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott offi cially welcomes Prime Minister to the G20 Leader's Summit in Brisbane. India-Australia Relations Growing from Strength to Strength By Shaun Star* T he India Australia relationship is emerging as a significant bilateral engagement, encouraged by the convergence of interests between the two nations in areas such as education, regional security, energy and resources, and international trade. Australia and India share much in common, both historically and from a modern geopolitical perspective. The changing landscape within the Indo-Pacifi c region has been the catalyst for stronger ties in recent times. In addition, shared democratic values, a common love for the sport, as well as economic and strategic interests make Australia and India a natural fi t for collaboration and cooperation. Over the past fi ve years, both governments have come to recognise that the Australia- India relationship needs to be at the forefront of international partnerships. This article will briefl y outline some of the recent landmarks which are building momentum in the Australia- India relationship. Government-to-Government In 2014, Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, visited India. This was the fi rst bilateral visit by a prime minister since leader Narendra Modi was elected. This was followed by Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Australia in conjunction with the G20 Summit in November 2014. Prime Minister Modi’s visit was the fi rst offi cial visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 28 years (since Rajiv Gandhi in 1986). To put this into perspective, since 50 percent of India’s population is under the age of 25, more than half of the Indian population had not witnessed a Prime Ministerial state visit to Australia during their lifetime. These state visits, which occurred in quick succession, signaled to the world that the Australian and Indian governments, were more than ever before, seeing the value in investing in this important relationship. Momentum in the bilateral partnership was beginning to build. Indeed, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the importance of the Australia-India partnership Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 3 • March 2019, Noida • 17