Australia is keen to explore a digital services agreement with India under a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in the future, said Tim Watts, Australia’s Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Speaking to members of the press, Minister Watts said that Australia “believes digital trade is a really worthwhile agenda.”
“It’s not just the transit of data. Digital services underpin all trade and through this, we can create standards on digital services that better facilitate trade across the board”, Minister Watts added.
Watts stated that the responsible ministers from both countries had committed to starting negotiations on the same in coming months. This announcement comes just after both sides completed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). On November 18, Australia’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommended the ECTA for ratification. The treaty will now be considered by the Australian Parliament in Canberra.
The ECTA is designed to lay the groundwork for a more ambitious trade agreement, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and a digital services deal will be explored under this framework. Talks on the CECA began in 2011 and were suspended in 2016
According to Australia’s foreign ministry, “in September 2021, Australia and India formally re-launched CECA negotiations with the intention of concluding an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) to swiftly liberalise and deepen bilateral trade in goods and services, and to then use this foundation to resume negotiations on the more ambitious CECA.”
According to Minister Watts, Australia was also keen to pursue cooperation on critical and cyber technology. Canberra is planning to set up a Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy in Bengaluru as part of this agenda.
During his remarks, Watts also spoke of the broader India-Australia relationship, the latest activities undertaken by the Quad and Australia’s foreign policy towards China.
