South Australia offers tech cooperation in power, defence

As New Delhi and Canberra move closer to ink a free trade agreement, one of key Australian states today offered to provide its expertise in power generation, water management, defence and aerospace, among others, to the country.
The Indo-Australian free trade agreement is likely to be signed by end December.
"The long standing ties between South Australia and India are very crucial given the kind of expertise both of us have across various sectors," South Australia's trade and investment minister Martin Hamilton-Smith told PTI here.
"As both the economies are poised to grow, we expect to collaborate with India in various fields such as energy, education, water management, mining services, defence and aerospace, among others," he said.

He also expressed hope that the proposed FTA will open up new opportunities for South Australia.
"India is a key country for South Australia when it comes to trade. Our exports to India include mainly minerals and services like education and intellectual property across various sectors. On the other hand, India's expertise in construction is key for our growth," he added.

In 2011, South Australia exported AUD712 million worth goods and services to India while its imports stood at AUD 132 million. India is currently South Australia's fourth largest export market.
The minister said since education is particularly important to India and South Australia, the state has built a partnership in this area. This will underpin the role of higher education in India continuing growth and development.

"Since India is considering increasing its nuclear power generation capacity and we have huge uranium deposits, we see a huge scope for collaboration in this field.
"Besides, we also have huge iron ore (magnetite, haematite), copper, gold, silver deposits apart from coal-to-liquids and heavy minerals, which we can offer to India," he added.
South Australia which is the fourth largest province of the Down Under, is known for its wide wilderness, and long coastline lined by the sheer cliffs of the Great Australian Bight, the empty expanse of the Nullarbor Plains and the vast, inhospitable Outback desert, apart from vineyards, getting it's the nickname of the Wine State.

Its capital city Adelaide is nicknamed 'City of Churches' for its history of religious diversity. Its falls in the southern central part of Australia and covers some of the most arid parts of the continent and its economy is dominated by agricultural, manufacturing and mining.