Australia obviously has taken a strategic decision to develop substantive relations with India. What are the new realities that have influenced Canberra's move to think out of the box?

India is a vibrant democracy, which has made great strides in economic reform, and which is committed to a secure, stable region. All these things are also true of Australia. Australia shares many common interests with India, and we remain committed to developing a dynamic, forward-looking and mutually-beneficial approach to our relationship.
By the standards generally used to measure bilateral relations — high-level political visits, interaction between communities and business, and trade and investment flows — Australia-India relations have never been in better shape.

The bilateral relationship is now underpinned by a quartet of annual ministerial and senior-official level dialogues which provide the institutional structure for managing and expanding the political, economic and strategic facets of the relationship: the Foreign Ministers' Framework Dialogue; the Joint Ministerial Commission (on trade); the Senior Officials' Talks; and the Strategic Dialogue which includes Joint Working Groups dealing with defence, counter-terrorism and immigration.

Australia has the resources, the technology and the services to partner India's continued economic expansion. And judging by our current export growth, India already recognises this complementarity. India has now become Australia's sixth largest export market — up from ninth last year.

A key outcome of the [meeting of the] Joint Ministerial Commission [in Sydney on May 19 this year] was an agreement to begin negotiations on a Trade and Economic Framework (TEF). The proposed TEF would set the direction for the facilitation and future development of our trade and economic relationship. A key aim will be to boost cooperation and enhance policy dialogue on issues of mutual interest.

Australia welcomes the close and constructive cooperation we have had with India on efforts to develop a tsunami early warning system. The proposed network of national warning centres to be coordinated by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) is on track to be formally launched later this month and should provide an effective and durable system. Australia particularly appreciates the close working arrangements we are building with India to detect tsunamis originating from the Sunda Trench and [we] believe this shows the benefit of our working

cooperatively on issues of mutual interest in the Indian Ocean.

What are the parameters, if any, of the support that Canberra has already extended to India in its current bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council? Is Australia pressing for India's participation in the U.S.-sponsored Proliferation Security Initiative?

Australia is a longstanding supporter of U.N. reform. Australia supports a Security Council that more accurately reflects contemporary geopolitical realities. India is clearly an important player regionally and globally in today's world.
Consistent with this approach, Australia supports Security Council reform that includes permanent membership for Japan, India, Brazil plus appropriate African representation.

As permanent chair of one of the key international export control regimes (the Australia Group) and through new practical measures like the Proliferation Security Initiative, Australia is firmly committed to global efforts to counter the WMD [weapons of mass destruction] threat.

As a country with nuclear weapons, India has particular responsibilities for ensuring effective domestic controls on its nuclear and other WMD-relevant dual-use materials, technology and knowledge. Australia recognises the responsibility India is taking with respect to counter-proliferation — for example, with the passage on May 13, 2005 of legislation prohibiting proliferation of WMD and their delivery systems.

Please specify what you hope to achieve, in regard to political and economic matters, during your prospective visit to India. Does Australia intend to go beyond the existing framework of bilateral strategic dialogue and seek a partnership with India on international issues?

We intend to pursue a series of initiatives across a large number of areas, which I am only able to touch on in this interview.

These initiatives include a proposed increase in high-level ministerial visits, particularly in the sectors of science and technology, energy, agriculture and defence; the encouragement of greater bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation; and promoting cooperation between the Australian and Indian film industries by facilitating the production of Indian films in Australia. We are also seeking greater interaction and cooperation between our defence and security agencies, and we are pursuing a number of training and education initiatives, including

scholarships, and Indian participation in international visitor and training programmes. Australia's relationship with India is rich and varied, and this is reflected in the broad agenda of meetings I will be having with Indian interlocutors.

What is Canberra's policy on defence-related engagement with New Delhi? Is a defence cooperation accord on the cards? Will Australia favour anti-terror maritime exercises under the auspices of Association of South East Asian Nations' Regional Forum (which includes India, China, the United States and Australia, among others)?

We see India as a key partner in promoting regional security. Australia and India also have close bilateral talks that provide valuable opportunities to increase our cooperation on issues including transnational threats, particularly terrorism, as well as defence and border security.

Australia welcomes the increased global and regional focus on maritime security in South and South-East Asia, which is of critical importance, given the dependence of regional economies on sea-borne trade.
The Indian Navy's cooperation with the U.S. Navy in the conduct of anti-terrorist patrols in the Malacca Straits in 2001 is illustrative of the important role India can play in this regard.

What is the status of Australia's dialogue with India on the situation in Fiji and the stalled progress towards the formation of a wider India Ocean community?

Fiji is another area of shared interest for Australia and India. Tension between ethnic Fijian and Indo-Fijian political representatives is increasing in the lead-up to the 2006 election. Australia is concerned about these tension[s] and will ... take appropriate opportunities to raise our concerns with the Government of Fiji.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) has the potential to play a useful role in promoting closer economic engagement between Australia and the countries of the Indian Ocean Rim.

While IOR-ARC has not lived up to expectations so far, a recent decision to allow projects to go ahead with the support of at least six members (as opposed to a consensus of all members) was a positive development.

This article has been reproduced with permission from The Hindu Newspaper.