By IANS,
Chennai : The bilateral relations between Australia and India should not be measured only in terms of uranium supply, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said here Tuesday.
Speaking to a gathering organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said: “Australia’s relationship with India goes far beyond the export of one individual minerals commodity.”
Australia always maintained a policy that it would not supply nuclear fuel to the non-NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) signatories. “This position remains unaffected by the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group’s (NSG) waiver for India,” Smith said.
To a question whether the Australian government was more concerned about China and its reactions, he said: “Had that been the case, our prime minister would not have spoken about the human rights in China during his visit there.”
He said India’s economic weight has grown, so has its strategic view broadened.
“This means that our strategic interests, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, increasingly intersect. As India looks to the east, Australia looks to the west,” Smith said.
He added that the bilateral trade last year was just short of 11 billion Australian dollars ($8.9 billion).
Citing the Indian investments in Australia, Smith said Burrup Fertilisers’ 700 million Australian dollars investment at a greenfield ammonia plant was the largest investment.
“Hindalco’s purchase of Nifty Copper Mine in Western Australia for 80 million Australian dollars underscores the growing Indian interest in Australia’s minerals industry,” he added.
Tata Steel and Australia’s Bluescope Steel would soon build their fourth plant in Kolkata, and Rio Tinto, an Australian mining company, has signed an agreement with the Hyderabad-based National Mineral Development Corp, he said.
According to Smith: “The comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement would further boost the economic ties between India and Australia.”
Citing the over 70,000 Indian students studying in Australia, he said enrolment from India has grown at an annual average of 41 percent since 2002.
According to Australia’s 2006 census, the Indian community was the ninth largest ethnic group there at over 230,000.