Scott Morrison urged to press for free trade agreement with India in talks with Narendra Modi

Australia’s peak resources chief has encouraged Scott Morrison to push forward talks on a free trade agreement with India when he meets that nation’s Prime Minister in Washington DC on Friday. Mr Morrison will meet his counterpart Narendra Modi for a one-on-one meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington before the first leaders’ meeting of the Quad tomorrow. Progressing energy and technology partnerships will be key to their talks. Tania Constable, chief executive of the Minerals Council, said securing more resources pipelines with India was paramount. She said movement on a free trade agreement would lead to “thousands” more jobs and more direct investment in new Australian mines and downstream processing. “Any progress ... is a great thing for Australia,” Ms Constable said. “What it provides is it diversifies our trade future and provides additional markets for our products.” Ms Constable said critical minerals in particular were of key importance and that would be progressed in the Quad talks — between Australia, India, Japan and the US — on Saturday. “It is significantly important for electrification round the world and India is a key manufacturer of electric vehicles which critical minerals are needed for,” she said. Liberal MP and Chair of the Parliamentary friends of India Julian Leeser said Bangalore had become the “Silicon Valley of India” so getting more Australian critical minerals and rare earths into India would be a great success. “There is a real opportunity to work together to maintain progress on critical minerals trade,” Mr Leeser told The West Australian. “We need India to help us and they need us.” Meanwhile, the higher education sector wants Mr Morrison to encourage more Indian students to study at Australian universities. The sector is worried about a potential fall in Chinese international enrolments and was holding out hope the topic of more Indian students studying in Australia would be discussed by the prime ministers. WA member for Curtin and member of the Parliamentary Committee on Education Celia Hammond said there was “significant unmet demand for higher education in India”. “While WA unis have been less dependent on any one particular country for their international students than some of their Eastern States counterparts, they will undoubtedly be looking to further diversify the countries from which they attract students in the future,” Ms Hammond said. Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said there was a “powerful connection that bonds Australia and India” and anything that led to international students returning to campuses in Australia and boosted numbers would be a good thing. Mr Morrison will also meet the managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva and the World Bank president David Malpass. The Prime Minister will further progress meetings with congressional leaders on Australia’s nuclear subs deal and the AUKUS alliance.