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India, Australia ties see enormous growth, diversification: Jaishankar
Addressing an event at the Australian High Commission here to mark the fifth anniversary of India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he also said the reason behind this "dosti" has actually been the "strong leadership that we have seen from both countries".
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who is on a visit to India, was also present on the occasion.
Jaishankar said "here we are -- not just with a transformed relationship", but actually marking five years of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
"I think these have been five great years in our ties. Many more to come," he said.
Earlier in the day, the Australian leader said Canberra's relationship with New Delhi is of the "highest priority" and that it is profoundly significant to Australia's national interest.
Jaishankar said that in the last five years, "we have seen an enormous deepening and diversification of our cooperation".
"So, I am here today to reaffirm, in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister, a strong commitment to take this relationship to still greater heights, to look at areas like critical minerals, cyber, technology, space, sports as further domains of collaboration, and to work on mechanisms -- most of all the Quad, but in the East Asia Summit platforms, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the United Nations, even the trilateral grouping that we have with France," he said.
India and Australia on Wednesday resolved to further boost their strategic ties with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailing Canberra's unequivocal support to New Delhi's resolute response to the barbaric Pahalgam terror attack.
Singh held wide-ranging talks with his visiting Australian counterpart focusing on various aspects of bilateral defence cooperation as well as New Delhi's "extreme challenges" along its border with Pakistan.
"...Today we saw one example of that as the Deputy Prime Minister reiterated the strong sense of solidarity and support that we got when the Pahalgam terrorist attack happened, and I recall that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, despite being in the middle of a very intense election campaign, actually reached out and called Prime Minister Modi to express those sentiments," Jaishankar said in his address.
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On seafood exports, India's big competitors have included Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia – all of which are being subjected to lower US tariff rates (19%, 20% and 19%, respectively). Since Trump's tariff announcements began, listed seafood companies have also seen their share values fall. The recent India-UK trade deal, however, could provide these exporters with a new market to explore, as the duties on fisheries products have been removed under this deal. The furniture, bedding and mattress industries too had a big market in the US, with India exporting $1.1 billion worth of these products in FY 2024-25. The US accounted for about 45% of India's exports in these sectors, according to the GTRI. Now, the tariff on these exports will go up 2.3% to 52.3%. So far, five rounds of trade negotiations have been held between the American and Indian teams. Another round is scheduled for later this month. However, Trump's repeated changes to the tariff being imposed on India – forcing the Indian government to respond and express their disagreement with the move – suggest that discussions may not be headed to an amicable conclusion. A recent Reuters report states that 'a mix of political misjudgment, missed signals and bitterness broke down the deal' – and the future of India's exports to the US remains uncertain. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
