Alan
Carpenter
Premier, W.
Australia
Jon
Stanhope
Chief Minister,
ACT
By Dev
Varam
This is the
tale of two
Australian government
leaders, both
visiting India
in February
2007 on a similar
mission to promote
bilateral trade
as well as their
respective states
as ideal destinations
for joint ventures
and Indian investment.
Australian Capital
Territory (ACT)
Chief Minister
Jon Stanhope
will be the
first to arrive,
leading a trade
delegation,
followed by
Western Australia's
premier Alan
Carpenter, heading
a similar delegation.
Their elaborate
10-day India
visits, Stanhope's
beginning February
6 and Carpenter's
from February
15, are indicative
of Australia's
seriousness
in forging existing
synergies with
this country
and strengthening
them further.
Their agendas
are brimming
with high-level
business meetings
with Indian
CEOs, political
and government
leaders and
Bollywood's
film makers
and stars. In
separate interviews
with Indo-Australian
Business ahead
of their visit,
both have talked
about the immense
opportunities
offered by India,
whose economy
is racing forward
at an annual
growth rate
of 8.0 percent.
Of course, Western
Australia's
growth rate
is 10 percent,
which makes
it an ideal
partner for
India. Carpenter
has made it
clear that during
his visit he
will be enticing
India's highly
skilled manpower
to come to his
state. “There
are more jobs
available than
men in Western
Australia,”
he says. Stanhope's
offers are equally
enticing. For
instance, business
decisions involving
a whopping sum
of $156 billion
are made in
Canberra, the
Australian capital.
Naturally, most
global corporate
companies have
a presence in
Canberra, and
it is a clear
invitation to
Indian companies,
if they are
not already
represented
there. Stanhope's
stress, during
his India mission,
will be on forging
tie-ups in the
knowledge industry,
in which both
Australia and
India enjoy
cutting-edge
competencies.
Towards
Forging
Stronger Synergies
Australian
leaders have
focused on India
for quiet some
time now. During
the last quarter
of 2005, Geoff
Gallop, then
Premier of Western
Australia and
Mike Rann, Premier
of South Australia
visited India
with business
delegations.
In fact, Rann
has visited
this country
two more times
since then,
Their missions
had only to
get more and
more opportunities
for their states
to participate
in and benefit
from India's
economic growth.
Of course, India's
economic needs
neatly dovetail
into what Australia's
expertise in
the fields of
infrastructure
development,
mining, and
exploration
of oil and natural
gas.
Added to these
are Australia's
capabilities
in the fields
of Agriculture,
food processing,
science and
technology,
research and
development
in various other
manufacturing
industries.
The high point
in economic
relations between
India and Australia
was the visit
to this country
by the latter's
Prime Minister
John Howard
in March, 2006.
A host of bilateral
trade agreements
were signed
between Howard
and his Indian
counterpart
Manmohan Singh.
It was Howard,
who repeatedly
referred to
the growing
purchasing power
of India's 300-million
strong middle
class and the
kind of market
it could provide
to Australian
goods and services.
Subsequent visits
by various Australian
business delegations
and officials
have been contributing
in taking the
Howard-Singh
agenda further.
The Indo-Australian
bilateral trade,
estimated at
$9.4 billion
in 2005, is
expected to
take a big leap
in the dyers
to come.
ACT Chief Minister
Stanhope said
he was looking
forward to his
first trip to
India, which
would involve
a series of
high-level political
and business
meetings. “I
am particularly
keen to support
the commercial
objectives of
our mission's
members during
meeting with
some leading
Indian CEOs,”
he said.
Ahead of their
departure for
India, 11 organizations
participating
in Mission India
were briefed
by the Indian
High Commission
in Australia
and the India-Australia
Business Council.
The mission
will span four
cities - Mumbai,
Pune, New Delhi
and Bangalore.
“The clear
message the
group heard
is that the
opportunities
in India are
enormous, but
you have to
approach the
Indian market
in a very patient
and systematic
way,”
Stanhope said.
“We started
scoping this
mission back
in October with
a premise that
it would be
mostly about
marketing our
information
technology (IT)
skills and wares,”
the Chief Minister
said. “As
planning for
the mission
has progressed,
what has become
apparent is
our selling
point in India
is going be
about Canberra's
unique knowledge
economy, the
research cluster
it represents,
and the unique
businesses that
Canberra has
given rise to,”
he said.
“The companies
on the mission
sell a diverse
range of products,
services and
technologies,
but what links
them together
is their knowledge
economy focus,”
Stanhope said.
The
members of the
mission are:
• National
ICT Centre of
Excellence •
Perpetual Water
• Ruleburst
• Team
Canberra (representing
the Canberra
education export
industry) •
Excom Education
India Australia
Business Forum
Film & Entertainment
Group (Representing
Butterfly Media)
• Shivoys
International
• Capital
Hill Consulting
• Diverse
Concepts International
• Centre
for Customs
& Excise
Studies •
Canberra Business
Council.
The mission
program is divided
into a company
stream, where
business participants
meet with like-minded
Indian businesses
and institutions
while Chief
Minister Stanhope's
program will
involve higher
level political
and CEO meetings.
The Chief Minister
is also participating
in the NASSCOM
2007 Leaders
Forum (India's
annual strategy
forum for the
ICT sector)
and has been
invited to speak
on the ACT's
approach to
building knowledge-based
communities.
He will also
meet with biotechnology
representatives.
An interesting
feature of Stanhope's
India visit
will be his
interaction
with representatives
of 'Bollywood',
India's own
version of Hollywood.
It may be mentioned
that Indian
film makers
have been evincing
keen interest
in shooting
at exciting
Australian locations
and and taking
advantage of
Australia's
advanced post
production processing
facilities.
Skilled migration
seminars will
be conducted
by ACT Government
officials in
New Delhi and
Bangalore to
coincide with
the trade mission
presence in
those two cities.
The seminars
are being held
in conjunction
with the University
of Canberra's
education export
area.
In the case
of Western Australia,
Premier Carpenter
says the strongest
point of his
state is its
fast-growing
economy, which
has been creating
thousands of
high quality
and highly paid
jobs. And this
looks set to
continue, with
$23.3 billion
worth of projects
currently under
construction
in the state
and public and
private investment
in infrastructure
estimated to
reach $650 billion
over the next
twenty years.
“The only
downside to
all of this
is that we are
seriously short
of skilled workers
to build and
operate these
world-class
projects. This
is where you
come in. While
we are currently
spending record
amounts to train
Western Australians,
we will need
thousands of
skilled workers
from interstate
and overseas
if we are to
make the most
of the opportunities
we now have,”
Carpenter says.
According to
the Australian
Bureau of Statistics,
Western Australia's
merchandise
exports to India
grew by 31 percent
in 2006 over
the previous
year to A$4.388
billion making
India the State's
4th largest
export market.
Australia 's
overall exports
to India grew
by 23 percent.
Excluding diamonds
Western Australia
accounts for
48 percent of
the country's
total exports
and when diamonds
(which are shipped
to India via
Antwerp ) are
taken into consideration,
Western Australia
accounts for
57 percent of
our the country's
export.
