NSW bolsters ties with India

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Created on Tuesday, 10 December 2013 15:46

Written by Editorial staff

India is one of Australia's most important partners when it comes to investment, trade and immigration.

That's why both our federal and state governments are taking pains to strengthen Australia's relationship with this country, which - according to Tourism Australia - is one of the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in the world

The latest attempt to bolster ties with India occurred last week. On December 1, New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell departed for the second-most populous nation in the world to remind its leaders that his state is "open and ready for business".

During the first week of his visit, Mr O'Farrell spent time with a number of government representatives in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. He broached a wide range of topics with these influential men and women, including education, infrastructure, financial services and immigration.

When it comes to infrastructure, Mr O'Farrell said both New South Wales and India are currently planning or undertaking ambitious projects.

For example, the government of New South Wales is supporting a $2.5 billion "Darling Harbour Live" project that will see Sydney's waterfront transformed into a world-class exhibition, convention and entertainment hub.

Meanwhile, the government of India is planning to invest a total of $1 trillion into projects over the next five years.

"I am confident New South Wales has the strong infrastructure services capabilities that could support the delivery of many of these planned projects," said Mr O'Farrell.

In terms of immigration, Mr O'Farrell said India is one of New South Wales' - and, indeed, Australia's - largest sources of short- and long-term migrants.

Last year, a total of 11,300 students from India were enrolled in schools across New South Wales. That makes India our state's second-biggest supplier of international students.

In addition to this, India holds the title for Australia's largest overall provider of permanent and skilled migrants.

Mr O'Farrell revealed the Indian community was the "fourth-largest migrant community in our country" in 2012-13.

Australian migration agents will be interested to learn this trend shows no signs of slowing down.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, approximately 50 million people from India are expected to be undertaking outbound travel by the end of this decade.

This is a huge amount, and there's no doubt migration agents in Australia will get the opportunity to assist a few of them with migration visas in the coming years!