By Sahil Pandey
New Delhi [India], September 15 (ANI): Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green on Tuesday praised India’s rising function on the worldwide stage, describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as “giants” and highlighting the rising momentum within the Quad, whereas additionally outlining alternatives for deeper India-Australia cooperation in agriculture, expertise and healthcare.
Speaking to ANI on the BRICS Summit hosted by India, Green stated Australia just isn’t a member of the grouping and respects the function of India and different BRICS members.
“We’re not involved in the BRICS, and we leave that to India and the other members,” Green stated.
At the identical time, he lauded India’s diplomatic management, significantly the function performed by Prime Minister Modi and EAM Jaishankar.
“The Ministry of External Affairs has some of the finest diplomats in the world, and in Dr Jaishankar and Prime Minister Modi, you have people who are real giants on the world stage,” he stated.
Green stated Australia’s engagement with India has primarily progressed by the bilateral relationship in addition to the Quad, which brings collectively India, Australia, Japan and the United States.
“I can say that my engagement with your finest diplomats and your leaders has been through the Quad as well as bilaterally, and the Quad is moving at great pace,” he stated.
Referring to the Quad Foreign Ministers’ assembly held in India earlier this 12 months, Green stated the grouping is creating higher coherence and increasing its scale and areas of cooperation.
“You will have seen we had a very successful foreign ministers meeting here just three months ago. We have more foreign ministers meetings on the way,” he stated.
“The Quad is really growing in coherence and scale and effort, and I think you’re going to see more of that in lots to come,” Green added.
On the Quad’s latest tabletop train in Tokyo to advance the Indo-Pacific Logistics Network, Green stated the grouping is specializing in sensible areas the place the 4 international locations could make a tangible distinction throughout the area.
“Well, what we’re doing in the Quad is focusing on a few areas where we can really make a difference,” he stated, highlighting maritime area consciousness and subsea cables as key areas.
“These are the sort of interventions that the Quad is making to engage all of the countries of our region and to ensure that they have the opportunity to benefit from the best things of the modern world,” he stated.
Describing India, Australia, Japan and the US as a “democracy diamond”, Green stated the 4 international locations are main an vital effort for the Indo-Pacific.
“We are leading this effort, and it’s a very important one for our region, the Indo-Pacific,” he stated.
On future India-Australia cooperation, Green recognized agriculture and agri-tech as main areas of potential collaboration, saying Australia is eager to construct on its present engagement with India’s agricultural sector.
“We’ve made huge interventions in this country in the field of agriculture, and I’d be keen to do that again,” he stated.
He stated ongoing free commerce negotiations and different initiatives may assist join Australian agricultural expertise with India’s capabilities and necessities.
“Through our free trade negotiations and elsewhere, we’re trying to find new and better ways to connect Australian agri-tech and Indian capability and need,” Green stated.
Green additionally highlighted the Australian-origin cochlear implant expertise and its potential to rework the lives of individuals with profound listening to loss in India.
“The Australian connection is the cochlear implant, invented in my country, now available all over the world, with variants specifically designed for the Indian population here,” he stated.
“My message to Indian governments and those with the resources to help is: we can really make a difference to people with profound hearing loss and allow them to live an utterly normal life,” Green added. (ANI)