10th Round of India-Australia CECA Negotiations held on five tracks in Sydney

Newdelhi:25/8/24:Procurement, Rules of Origin, and Agri tech. Intense discussions were held on each of these tracks bringing in clarity and understanding for convergence in the remaining provisions. The 10^th Round was held after around 5 months from the concluded 9^th Round. However intersessional meetings were held between these two rounds to bring in convergence on all these tracks as well as under other remaining tracks.

The Indian delegation was led by Shri Rajesh Agrawal, the Chief Negotiator and Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, GOI, and the Australian delegation was led by Shri Ravi Kewalram, the Chief Negotiator and First Assistant Secretary in DFAT, Australia. The meeting saw intensive discussions and negotiations to narrow down the differences through a better understanding of each other’s proposals and the way to bring in convergence. Efforts were made by both sides keeping in mind the domestic sensitivities for reaching a balanced outcome.

All five negotiating tracks reported the outcomes of their discussions to the Joint meeting of the Chief Negotiators which provided them with further guidance to steer their future work. It was decided that given the clear understanding of each other’s proposals under the five tracks, track leads from both the sides would work out an action plan for negotiations through virtual mode intersessionally before the next round, likely to be held in India.

In addition, the Chief Negotiators reviewed the bilateral trade and investment relations between India and Australia. They underscored commitment to strengthen and enhance the economic partnership between India and Australia by building up on the positive effects of India-Australia ECTA, which entered into force on 29 December 2022. Both sides tried to ensure that the CECA negotiation delivers meaningful benefits and balanced outcome for both sides.