India and Australia will conclude a “mini-free trade agreement”, also commonly known as an early harvest agreement, within the next 30 days, India’s minister of commerce, Piyush Goyal, said on Friday, February 11.
“That’s the kind of aggressive timelines we have set for our teams today. I am quite confident that we will come up with some exciting news for the businesses in both countries," he said.
He made the statement after a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Dan Tehan, during the latter’s visit to New Delhi.
“The 30 days of hard work could lead to something that is truly historic. About 75 percent of Australia’s trade is now covered by FTAs, which could go up to 90 percent after the trade pact with India. The FTA negotiations come against the backdrop of India-Australia bilateral trade growing by 120 percent in April-December 2021 compared with the same period of the previous year,” Mr. Tehan said in his statement.