Australia should make an ambitious commitment to partner more with India says the recent economic strategy report by Peter Varghese, former Foreign Secretary and Envoy to India. The strategy aims to strengthen economic and trade ties and consolidate strategic relationships between the two countries. It prioritizes ten sectors and ten states that will be avenues for collaboration; education being Australia’s ‘flagship’ sector with resources, agribusiness and tourism identified as important ‘lead’ sectors. It also aims at creating opportunities, promoting economic growth and sustained economic relations between both countries. From securing channels for trade and transport to strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, India and Australia are aligned towards a safer, prosperous and more stable Indo-Pacific. 

Join us for a conversation with H.E Harinder Sidhu, the Australian High Commissioner, and Mr Dhruva Jaishankar, Fellow of Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings, on the strengthening India-Australia relationship and Australia’s plans in the Indo-Pacific.

Harinder Sidhu has held the post of Australia’s High Commissioner to India since February 2016. She also holds non-resident accreditation to the Kingdom of Bhutan. Ms Sidhu brings over 30 years’ experience in government. She began her career as a diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Before her appointment to India, she served as head of the Department’s Multilateral Policy Division with responsibility for Australia’s relationships with the UN and UN agencies, the UN Security Council and the Commonwealth. Between 2008 and 2013, Ms Sidhu held the post of First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Climate Change. Prior to that, she served in several senior roles in government, particularly on defence and intelligence matters in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Office of National Assessments. Ms Sidhu has served overseas at Australian Embassies in Damascus and Moscow, and was also posted to Cairo where she studied the Arabic language. She holds degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney.

Dhruva Jaishankar is Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies with Brookings India in New Delhi & the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. He is also a non-resident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Australia. His work focuses on India's foreign and security policy, with particular attention to relations with the United States, Asia and the Indo-Pacific, and Europe. Mr. Jaishankar is a regular contributor to the Indian & international media. He was previously a Transatlantic Fellow with the German Marshall Fund in Washington and has been a Visiting Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. He holds a master's degree in security studies from Georgetown University and a bachelor's degree in classics and history from Macalester College.

In Partnership With: