Over 100 Australian businesses to push bilateral economic ties with India

Over 100 Australian businesses are on their way to India as part of Australia's ongoing push to strengthen economic and investment ties with "one of the fastest-growing economies in the world."

Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said the aim of the mission is to help open new doors for Australian businesses with a focus on education, tourism, health, resources, infrastructure and premium products -- food, wine, and beauty.

"We want to make sure Australian businesses are front and centre as India's economy grows over the next 20 years," the Minister was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission on Friday.

The Minister said India's economy is rapidly transforming, predicted to be the third-largest in the world by 2035, and this presents huge opportunities for Australian businesses across a range of export sectors.

Stressing that this will be an important opportunity for Australian businesses looking to pursue greater export and investment opportunities to "better understand how to do business in India and to form relationships with Indian industry and government leaders."

"It's this type of engagement, experience, and knowledge that will be absolutely crucial if Australia is to realise our India Economic Strategy goal of making India one of our top three exporting markets by 2035," the Minister said.

Referring to the cricketing ties between the two nations, Birmingham said: "India is one of our fastest-growing tourism markets and with the Women's T20 Cricket World Cup on right now and the men's tournament on later this year this, we will be encouraging Indian cricket fans to book a ticket, watch a few games, and also get out into our regions to explore the incredible tourism experiences on offer."

Birmingham will also hold bilateral meetings with key ministerial counterparts during the trip, including with India's Commerce Minister for the 16th Joint Ministerial Commission Meeting.

Australian businesses from priority sectors of education, tourism, energy and resources, and food and agribusiness will travel to New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai as part of the delegation between February 24 and 28.

The visit is part of Austrade's Australia-India Business Exchange (AIB-X), a multi-month program of events to deepen trade, investment, and tourism engagement between the two countries.

India is Australia's eighth-largest trading partner and fifth-largest export market, with two-way goods and services trade valued at A$30.3 billion (INR 1.44 trillion) in 2018-19.