India-Australia Ties

Why in news?

Australian Prime Minister announced an Australia-India education qualification recognition mechanism while on his 2 day tour in Gujarat.

Historical ties – The historical ties between India and Australia started immediately following European settlement in Australia from 1788.
India-Australia Strategic Relationship – Both countries signed a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation in 2009.
Bilateral co-operation – Bilateral mechanisms include Joint Trade, India-Australia '2+2', Energy Security Dialogue, JWGs on different issues etc.
Multilateral co-operation – The inaugural Secretary-level trilateral talks between India, Australia and Japan was held in New Delhi in June 2015.
The 1st Indonesia-Australia-India Senior Officials’ Strategic Dialogue was held in Bogor, Indonesia on 27th November 2017.
Bilateral Trade – India is the 5th largest trade partner of Australia with trade in goods and services.
Civil nuclear co-operation – A Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement between the two countries was signed in 2014.
Defence co-operation – The first-ever Bilateral Maritime Exercise, AUSINDEX, was conducted in Visakhapatnam in 2015.
In 2018, Indian Air Force participated for the first time in the Exercise Pitch Black in Australia.
INS Sahyadri participated in Kakadu, the biennial Exercise of the Australian Navy.
The AUSTRAHIND is the exercise of the Special Forces of Army Exercise.
Consular cooperation – The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and the Extradition Treaty between India and Australia, were signed in 2008.

China factor – Ties between Australia and China were strained after Canberra banned Chinese telecom firm Huawei from the 5G network.
China responded by imposing trade barriers on Australian exports, and by cutting off all ministerial contact.
India has been facing an aggressive Chinese military along the border.
New Delhi and Canberra have been assessing the Chinese challenge since 2013.
Economic cooperation – The Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA), the first free trade agreement signed by India with a developed country in a decade.
Bilateral trade was US$ 27.5 billion in 2021; with ECTA, there is potential for it to reach around US$ 50 billion in 5 years.
People-to-people ties – India is one of the top sources of skilled immigrants to Australia.
Clean energy – The countries signed a Letter of Intent on New and Renewable Energy in 2022 to bring down the cost of renewable energy technologies, especially ultra-low-cost solar and clean hydrogen.
IRIS – India announced matching funds of AUD 10 million for Pacific Island Countries under Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS).
ISA – It also announced AUD 10 million for Pacific Island Countries under International Solar Alliance (ISA).

MREQ – The Mechanism for Mutual Recognition of Educational Qualifications (MREQ) was signed this year.
This will facilitate mobility of students between India and Australia.
Indian students are the second largest cohort of foreign students in Australia.
New mechanism – The Australia-India education qualification recognition mechanism, degrees obtained in Australia will now be recognised in India, and vice-versa.
This move will not apply to professional qualifications such as engineering, medicine and law graduates, which will remain outside the ambit of this agreement.
Maitri scholarship – It will provide financial assistance to Indian students in Australia for as long as 4 years.

It will attract and support Indian students to study at Australian universities.