India is an important market for Victoria, underpinned by deep people to people links and strong trade, education and investment ties.
India celebrated its 75th anniversary of independence on 15 August 2022. Global Victoria was a key partner for a range of events held across the month of August to celebrate India’s milestone and Victoria’s deep connections with India.
Activities highlighted the opportunities India holds for Victorian exporters. For example, events held by the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) and Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC) focused on opportunities for collaboration and highlighted sectors that are emerging opportunities for Victorian exporters including ICT and Liveability.
The Victorian Government also sponsored the Australia India Institute’s Community Gala Dinner in Melbourne which showcased the creative strengths of Victoria’s Indian community. Additionally, the Victorian Government supported the AII’s Australia India Leadership Dialogue in New Delhi which brought together business, academic and government leaders from Australia and India to address shared challenges in the Australia-India relationship and explore ideas for cooperation across cybersecurity, clean technology, service delivery and global talent recruitment and skills mobility.
Global Victoria supported the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in August, an event featuring the legendary former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev and the director of the sports drama film 83, Kabir Khan, in conversation at the MCG. <INSERT picture of Kabir and Kapil with their hampers. Caption – Kapil Dev and Kabir Khan received hampers of Victorian products available in India>
The initial signing of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in April 2022 also holds opportunities for Victorian exporters, as the agreement contains wide and deep tariff reductions on a number of key Victorian exports to India, including agricultural products. The agreement is pending ratification by both parliaments before it comes into force. Following this there will be further rounds of negotiations.
DFAT’s FTA Portal Australia's current free trade agreements and how to apply for preferential treatment under established FTAs.
The Portal has been updated to include information about tariff reductions for Australian exporters under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Victorian exporters interested in learning more about how these tariff reductions can help their business engagement with India are encouraged to explore the Portal.
Upcoming events
Gaming/ AR-VR
Global Victoria will be conducting an outbound trade mission to the India Game Developer Conference 2022 in Hyderabad from 3 – 5 November. The trade mission will involve targeted business matching and networking opportunities.
Business Mission to coincide with T20 Men’s World Cup
As part of the T20 Men’s World Cup, Global Victoria will lead a business mission of Indian companies and investors to Melbourne in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry.