Report Recommends Six Sectors for Greater Indo-Australian Cooperation

A report by an Indo-Australian industry body said on Friday that the two nations and their respective industries can deeply collaborate in the fields of Agri tech, E-commerce and retail tech, Fin tech, Health Tech, Ed Tech, Cybersecurity, R&D and others. Top officials from both countries reiterated the commonalities between the democracies and Commonwealth nations and touched upon how technology can create new opportunities.

Prepared by the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce (IACC), the report is titled ‘Recommendations to build stronger ties between India & Australia in technology and innovation’

Speaking at the event, Australian Consul-General for South India, Ms Sarah Kirlew touched upon Australia’s Pioneering advances in Cybersecurity, AI, Quantum computing and 5G and related policy frameworks. She added that Indian and Australian governments could put in place pathways for closer collaboration.

The diplomat also referred to the comprehensive Indo-Australia free trade agreement that is expected by next year, which could maximize economic prosperity for both nations. She added that Australia would be having a strong country presence at the upcoming Bengaluru tech summit, which would be taking place at the same time as the Sydney dialogue.

Dr Neeraj Mittal, Principal Secretary to Government, IT Dept, Government of Tamil Nadu, said that India was a strong player in the software domain, but also referred to the need to collaborate with pioneers in the field of education tech.

On the prospects of Tamil Nadu, he said that the southern Indian state is the first to have an Artificial Intelligence policy, has strong relationships with manufacturing firms and that The state was looking towards growing to a $1Tn economy. He added that the state would soon operationalize the BharatNet connectivity program that would ensure high speed internet connectivity to Gram Panchayats and smalll villages, within 1.5 years. The senior official said that this initiative would be able to significantly boost education and telemedicine.

IACC CEO Petula Thomas said, “This report considered views of 82 industry leaders, senior government representatives and tech experts. It will serve as a roadmap for implementing the recommendations set out for stakeholders primarily in six key sectors. The Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Science & Innovation’ industry-sector leadership forum will engage stakeholders to develop a short term (6-12 months) and long term (2-3 years) strategy to deliver on the 41 recommendations made, and create lasting high impact”.

Source: WION