Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell AO kicked off his maiden visit to Punjab with a meeting with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday where they discussed ways to revitalize economies post COVID-19, enhance long-term economic cooperation between Punjab and Australia in agriculture, water, education, and strengthen trade and diaspora ties between the two regions.
A day after, the State Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan had a strategic dialogue with the Australian High Commissioner wherein she highlighted the Australia-India education partnership and offered Mohali as the ideal destination for Australian Universities interested in setting up Indian campuses.
She proposed that research and development (R&D) collaborations in agriculture may be expanded.During the meeting, the Government delegation also presented the potential for collaboration in agri commodities like kinnow, pear, tomatoes, potato seeds, among others. The State Government also requested Australian Government to provide agri-export certification relaxations similar to those provided by the USA and Canada.
Australian companies were also invited to invest in Punjab which offers a very investor-friendly ecosystem.
Barry O’Farrell AO expressed the interest of Australian Pension Funds in making long-term investments in Indian infrastructure sector. He also reiterated Australian universities’ interest in collaborating further with their Punjabi counterparts and extended his Government’s cooperation to the State in the fields of modern practices in agriculture and allied services, education, and industries.
During his visit, the Australian High Commissioner also interacted with Punjab industry titans like Rajendra Gupta of Trident Group, visited industries like Bansal Spinning Mills at Sahnewal, where Australia’s merino wool is processed, and saw the “Happy Seeder” (a machine that addresses stubble burning) which has been developed jointly by Punjab Agricultural University and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.