Every year, to commemorate India’s Independence Day on 15 August, AIBC hosts the Australia India Address in each state.
The first Australia India Address for 2023 kicked off with the launch of the Queensland India Trade & Investment Strategy (2023-27). India is already Queensland’s second-largest export market and I commend the Treasurer and Trade Minister, the Hon. Cameron Dick MP for his vision and focus, and thank Trade and Investment Queensland, for giving AIBC the opportunity to be a part of this journey. We will also be holding addresses in Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney during August-October.
The education sector is currently redrawing strategies to address new market realities and our education industry chapter team has been active in Brisbane and Perth, with a strong presence of government, business and academia from leading universities and vocational study providers. We were pleased to host the Hon. Grace Grace MP, Queensland’s Minister for Education.
Overall, we are delighted with the heightened interest in the bilateral relationship. Across states, we have reached more than 1500 people in the last few weeks.
To ensure we continue to meet the needs of our members and industry partners, we are expanding the AIBC team. I welcome Tony Fraser who takes over as President for ACT, Molina Asthana as the new Industry Chapter Lead for Sports, Art & Culture and Namrata Datt as Director – Strategy & Partnerships.
In closing, I wish to thank two champions of the bilateral corridor – Barry O’Farrell, former High Commissioner of Australia to India, who retired in July and is now back in Sydney; and Manish Gupta, Consul General, Sydney and South Australia who finishes his posting at the end of August. Congratulations also to Phillip Green for his appointment as Australian High Commissioner to India.
I also welcome NIB as a national partner of AIBC once again. NIB has partnered with us to promote Australia-India bilateral interests since 2019, especially in health and education, and is closely supporting the Indian diaspora.
Looking ahead, the B20 India 2023 Summit is coming up in New Delhi from 25-27 August. AIBC will be represented at this important forum to promote bilateral business opportunities.
Thank you for your support.
Warm regards,
Jodi McKay