SPEAKING
FREELY New
thrust to India-Australia
relations By Sudhanshu Tripathi
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times
Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say. Please
click hereif you are interested in
contributing.
The recent visit to
India by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
to India may prove a landmark achievement towards
not only their mutual progress and prosperity but
also for the peace and security of Asia.
Gillard's visit is certainly an auspicious
occasion for a new thrust to bilateral cooperation
after somewhat difficult relations between India
and Australia during past few years. The ban
imposed by Australia on the sale of uranium to
India along with several
unfortunate incidents of
deadly attacks on immigrant Indians, mostly
students, in very recent past were the sordid
tales behind that period.
But this visit
has paved the way for a new chapter in bilateral
ties as the decision of India and Australia to
conclude the civilian nuclear energy cooperation
marked a departure from the past. In fact, it was
only in the last year that Gillard's Labor Party
overturned the long-standing ban on selling
precious uranium to India even for its on-going
peaceful nuclear program, particularly for energy
requirements and medical research.
While
the actual supply of nuclear fuel will have to
await the yet to be concluded negotiations on a
safeguards agreement, the important positive
element for India is an implicit recognition of
India's solid non-proliferation record, as well as
its role as a responsible key player in the
region, particularly, at a time when the
geopolitics is generally said to be moving towards
East, as recognized by scholars and experts all
over the world.
As a matter of fact, the
nuclear issue has been a major hurdle between the
two nations, which has blocked the leveraging of
several complementarities shared by both
countries. As this is now being removed, their
mutual relations will definitely get a fresh
impetus to encompass several new areas of common
interests. As both India and Australia are
competent partners to contribute towards ensuring
peace and progress, of not only in Asia but also
the whole world, their bilateral relations must
not remain confined to "uranium."
There
are several new emerging fields which demand their
collective efforts towards fulfillment of their
respective national and regional goals. The areas
of cooperation include the expansion of education,
agricultural development, and developing
technology for producing clean energy, as well as
maritime security. India must learn from
Australia's sound and stable economic progress,
which has remained unaffected by the global
economic recession.
In fact, Australia is
one of the few countries to have mostly maintained
its economic progress even in most of the recent
troubled times. Interestingly, notwithstanding the
booming mining sector of Australia, it is other
sectors such as scientific and technical services,
education, finance and insurance that particularly
characterize the nation's well-founded and strong
economic backbone.
Obviously, India can
derive maximum economic benefits from Australia.
Further, since Indian immigrants in Australia are
in significantly large number, the Australian
government has taken appropriate steps for
checking hate crimes against Indian students and
also for ensuring their safety in Australia. These
steps have been well acknowledged in Australia and
in India. Also, Australia can extract huge
economic benefits from its investments in very
large Indian markets.
Under these
scenario, both countries can move fast ahead by
further improving economic cooperation, and
include other areas of cooperation as well, to
build on the fresh thrust in bilateral relations.
If these opportunities are seized upon, Gillard's
visit will prove to be an historic landmark for
both India and Australia.
Dr
Sudhanshu Tripathi is associate professor
of political science at MDPG College, Pratapgarh,
India.
Speaking Freely is an Asia
Times Online feature that allows guest writers to
have their say.Please
click hereif you are interested in
contributing. Articles submitted for this section
allow our readers to express their opinions and do
not necessarily meet the same editorial standards
of Asia Times Online's regular contributors.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
