"QUAD right up there": EAM Jaishankar on Australia's foundational role in partnership

"The QUAD ranks right up there and Australia is a founding partner of that mechanism in terms of our bilateral ties. In diplomacy, you come up with words that signal to your own system and to others. When we speak today of a comprehensive strategic partnership, this description has a meaning in bureaucratic terms...," said Jaishankar.

While addressing the Indian diaspora at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, on Sunday, Jaishankar noted the presence of around 125,000 individuals of Indian origin in Australia, including approximately 15,000-16,000 students in Queensland, underscoring the significance of this vibrant community in fostering deeper ties.

He pointed out that 75 per cent of Australia's exports to India originate from Brisbane and urged the stakeholders not to view the achievements of the India-Australia relationship in the last decade merely as milestones but rather as a glimpse of the potential that lies ahead.

The EAM elaborated on the strategic framework established to enhance bilateral relations, stating that India had placed a framework in which this relationship would grow and foster in the future.

"About 125,000 people of Indian origin live here. I'm told there are roughly 15,000-16,000 students living in this state. What impressed me was that 75 per cent of Australia's exports to India come from this state... In the last 10 years, we should not treat it as an achievement but as a glimpse of what is possible. What we have done is put in place a framework in which this relationship will grow and foster in the times to come. Today, as India looks out at the world and say which are our really crucial foreign policy and platforms."

He further highlighted the recent developments in educational cooperation, noting, "We have just had the visit of our Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to Australia and I do believe that education and research will play a disproportionate role in the knowledge economy and the era of AI."

EAM Jaishanka is on his five-day visit to Australia from November 3 to November 7. During his visit, he would be inaugurating India's 4th consulate in Australia and would also co-chair the 15th Foreign Ministers' Framework Dialogue (FMFD) with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra. (ANI)