Australia-India relations strengthened by ministerial visits and delegations
March 2023
From the CEO
As the Australia-India relationship made world headlines, it was wonderful to be in India during this time. I was honoured to participate in the Australian government’s ministerial visits to India, particularly Education Minister Jason Clare’s delegation with India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist. Minister Clare’s visit included meeting recipients of the Institute’s Australia India Research Student (AIRS) Fellowships. These fellowships provide young researchers the opportunity to undertake joint research exchange projects in both Australia and India.
The Raisina Dialogue, one of the most important global forums in geopolitics and geoeconomics, coincided with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong’s visit as part of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Delhi. Minister Wong gave an address at a Quad foreign ministers panel at Raisina which was marked with their reference of the group being like the ‘Beatles’ where ‘every member may release a solo album of their own’! The Dialogue also invited me to participate as a panellist and enabled the Institute valuable opportunities to engage with leaders from various countries on shared issues.
I was pleased to attend Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to India, where he reiterated our commitment to deepening links between our two countries and to be a force for stability and growth in our region. He highlighted the pivotal role education will play between our two nations through new education partnerships and the University of Melbourne’s launch of Bachelor of Science dual degrees with three major Indian universities.
We were also proud to support the India Australia Business and Community Alliance (IABCA) Awards in Delhi. The event recognised the contributions of businesses and individuals that have made significant strides in strengthening the Australia-India relationship, highlighting the positive outcomes that can be achieved through collaboration.
Finally, I hope everyone had a happy (and fun) Holi!
Lisa