Clear-cut plans in place to take forward Ind-Aus ties: Michelle Wade

Kochi, Aug 19 (IANS) Michelle Wade, South Asia Commissioner for the state of Victoria, Australia, has a clear-cut strategy to take forward India-Australia ties.

On the sidelines of her visit to the Kochi campus of Australia's premier training centre, the Institute of Health and Nursing Australia (IHNA) on Friday, she briefly shared her plans with IANS and said that she was tasked in 2018 with delivering the Victoria India strategy -- the first market-focussed strategy of the Australian state.

"We delivered and grew in our relationships in education, medtech and edtech, as well as environment and water services as prime examples. Since Covid, the Indian market is transacting much more online and is open to new solutions," said Wade, who is based in Bengaluru since 2018.

"This has opened opportunities in education, medical, AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technologies and also seen consumers looking for ethical and clean wellness products.

"The biggest impact has been that Covid gave airlines a chance to reset and we now have many more flights to Australia each week," she said.

Wade said that India has been a place of interest for Victorian businesses for long.

"Part of its reputation is driven by the large diaspora which young and well-educated. The IA-ECTA (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement) and our businesses' desire to diversify further is also seeing growing interest," Wade added.

She said that they will be hosting delegates at the DIDAC (Digital Data Acquisition and Control) in Bengaluru in September for edtech, and 'Indiajoy' for AR & VR in Hyderabad in November.

"We are also keen to develop business links through the ICC Men's T20 World Cup scheduled in Australia later this year," Wade said.

At the institute, Wade took part in the graduation ceremony of the first batch of IHNA's online courses, which are meant for getting skilled jobs while awaiting a permanent job in Australia.