INDIA'S RISE IS INEVITABLE: AUSTRALIAN LEADER

We would like India to choose Australia as a natural partner, says Edward Norman 'Ted' Baillieu, a former Premier of Victoria and an Indophile.

- MANISH CHAND

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Australia has raised the bar for India-Australia relations, prodding the two countries to know more about each other and to do more with each other. The 22-24 May visit also galvanised the political establishment in Australia to think afresh about India as a rising global power. In this interview, Edward Norman “Ted” Baillieu, a former Premier of Victoria, and an Indophile, says that India’s rise is inevitable and the momentum in India-Australia relations is unstoppable. Ted Baillieu, an eminent architect and a member of the Board of the Australia-India Council, is not an astrologer, but the tall stately Australian politician is confident that India will be the intellectual and strategic focus of the world in years to come.

Q: PM Modi’s visit to Australia was widely seen as a big success. But India has not loomed large on the radar screen of Australians and Australia for some time. And now we had two-way visits by the two Prime Ministers in around three months. Do you think this level of high-level engagement would encourage people to know more about India?

A: Yes, I think it does. Over the last 12 months, we have had multiple visits from Indian cabinet ministers to Australia. We have hosted many of those, more than we have sent to India. In the future, there would be many more visits in both directions. This is going to normalize these connections and boost relations. When Australians see Indian ministers here, they are quite impressed with their knowledge and commitment to India-Australia relations.

Q: Australia has had a conflicted relationship with China. Is there a conscious strategy on the part of Australia to move away from China or to diversify its network of relationships?