In partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Consul General of India (CGI) in Sydney, Business NSW and the Australia India Business Council (AIBC), Investment NSW recently organised a multi-city roadshow to present the opportunities for exporters resulting from the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA).
During the roadshow conducted across Sydney CBD, Parramatta, New Castle and Wollongong, industry stakeholders, government representatives and NSW businesses informed exporters how to navigate and maximise the benefits of Australia’s free trade agreement with India.
The speakers at the Parramatta edition of the roadshow included Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Sameer Pandey, CEO of Centre for Australia India Relations, Tim Thomas, Executive Director at Business NSW, David Harding, Chief Negotiator with Free Trade Agreements and Stakeholder Engagement Division at DFAT, Frances Lisson, Chairperson of Flavourtech, Leon Skaliotis, Trade and Investment Director, India, at Investment NSW, Malini Dutt, Executive Director at Business Western Sydney, David Borger, and AIBC’s National Associate Chair and President NSW, Irfan Malik.
Executive Director at Business NSW, David Harding, in a conversation with The Australia Today, said that opportunities are huge in India. He added that India speaks English, it has the same forms of contract as Australia, it’s not difficult to do business in India so lets demystify that and trade more.
Leon Skaliotis is the Chairperson of Flavourtech and shared his experiences of doing business with India at the roadshow. He told Pallavi Jain that Flavourtech has been doing manufacturing and exporting processing equipment for the food and beverages industry into India for the last 30 years. He added that India is a shining light in growing markets and there is so much opportunity occurring in India at the moment.
Speaking about the roadshow, AIBC’s National Associate Chair and President NSW, Irfan Malik, said that the key was to focus on Australian business especially Australian SMEs who all have an opportunity with India.
