India, Australia Seek to Upgrade ECTA to CECA, Advance Bilateral Investment Treaty: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, Sep 26 (KNN) India and Australia are working on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) and upgrading their existing Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) into a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to deepen trade and investment ties, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

Speaking at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s first Oceania International Conference 2026 in Australia, Goyal said both countries were working towards a balanced, fair and equitable CECA and a trusted partnership.

India’s exports to Australia have nearly doubled since the ECTA came into force in December 2022, rising to USD 7.28 billion in 2025-26 from USD 4 billion in 2020-21. Bilateral trade stood at USD 21.09 billion in 2025-26.

Critical Minerals, Manufacturing Key Areas

Goyal identified critical minerals, manufacturing and processing, renewable energy, technology, agritech and education as key areas for expanding bilateral cooperation.

He said Australia’s critical-mineral resources and India’s manufacturing and processing capabilities could complement each other, while Australian universities and Indian talent could create opportunities for deeper cooperation in education and technology-enabled professional services.

Goyal highlighted that ECTA has enabled deeper trade flows in both directions, greater investment on both sides and better availability of talent for innovation and growth.

He added that India and Australia had also addressed cross-border taxation issues faced by service providers, particularly IT companies, and increased cooperation on due diligence to reduce compliance burdens.

Scope For Greater Professional Cooperation

Goyal suggested that chartered accountants could play a bridging role between educational institutions and businesses in both countries, including through greater cooperation on professional recognition.

He also proposed exploring dual-degree programmes and deeper collaboration between professional bodies to facilitate the movement of Australian chartered accountants and CPAs to India and Indian chartered accountants to serve Australian businesses.

Goyal said stronger cooperation in renewable energy technologies, critical-mineral processing, education and professional services could create new opportunities under the broader India-Australia economic partnership.

(KNN Bureau)