India, Australia to conclude early harvest deal by end of month: Sources
By Trend
India and Australia will conclude an early harvest agreement by the end of this month, said sources on Sunday, Trend report citing Business Standart.
An early harvest agreement is aimed at liberalising tariffs on the trade of certain goods between two countries or trading blocs before a comprehensive agreement.
The development comes after the second India-Australia Virtual Summit on Monday to lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhance cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between the two countries.
According to the sources, the two countries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of critical minerals, which will help increase India's access to metallic coal and lithium in Australia.
Australia will also announce a Rs 1,500 crore investment in India in multiple sectors, which will be the largest ever investment by the Australian government in India, added sources.
Further, the Union Minister of Coal and Mines in India, Pralhad Joshi, will visit Australia soon, as per the sources.
The second India-Australia Virtual Summit follows the first Virtual Summit in June 2020 when the relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During the upcoming virtual summit, the leaders took stock of progress made on various initiatives under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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