Australian state to set up of office in Mumbai

Seeking "real partnership" with India in the field of trade, the government of the Australian state of Victoria has announced setting up of its representative office in the financial hub of Mumbai to build links with one of the fastest growing markets of the world.

The announcement was made last night by state Premier Ted Baillieu during his address to the Australia-India Business Council.

Baillieu said India was currently his state's 14th biggest export market for merchandised trade, adding that the trade between the two sides had touched USD 1.8 billion.
"So you can see there is a way to go... I know we can do a lot better in that relationship and if Victoria is to thrive and prosper over the next two decades, the fact is we will have to have a major presence in Asia," he said.

"Now what we are going to do is to move from engagement to real partnership with India in coming weeks and months," he said, adding India will become the key focus of the government's global plan.

Baillieu said setting up of state representative offices in cities like Mumbai and Beijing will build links to some of the world's fastest growing markets.

"And India one day, quite soon I believe, will become an even more important part of our state's future. India along with China, will become one of our state's top trading partners," he said.

"Just as Victoria will now be on the ground in Beijing, the epicentre of business activity in China, so too Victoria will have a presence in the financial powerhouse of the Indian economy, Mumbai," he said.

Both cities were strategically important, critical to the state's future and essential to Victoria's prosperity, the Premier said.

He said that the countries had so much in common that it could be

tapped to build strong relations. A high-level team of state government officials was on a visit to India as part of a trade mission in April this year that clearly stated the importance attached to India as a business partner, he said.

Ballieu also lauded the role of Indian community in the state, which he said has grown from 12,000 in 1981 to the current 200,000. The state is also home to 45,000 Indian students.

He said that there was a plan to send another large trade mission to visit India in February next year that would cover nine strategic sectors, including education, automotive, ICT, aviation, clean technology and tourism.

The mission is expected to further leverage the business relations between Victoria and India, he said, adding "our relation with India is a long standing one."

The Premier said the issue of attacks on international students, including Indians, was a very serious matter and his government took the allegations of racial violence with lot of seriousness.

"There is no room for violence in the state...I m upfront that I am determined that the best of our reputation is restored and protected and nurtured," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Indian consul General S K Behera impressed upon the state government to augment and develop cultural tie through Bollywood initiatives.

"We have already identified many areas of interest... we can have more engagement and many more MOUs can be signed," Behera said.

He said the state government's proposals were already in place which needed to be implemented to boost the two-way relations.

"There are proposed initiatives which include bringing IIFA awards to Melbourne and also to develop Bollywood film festival as a part of Melbourne's cultural calender," he said, adding that such a step will have rich benefits for both countries in terms of culture and commerce.