Australia today expressed its strong desire to take bilateral relations with India to the “next level” and said it has charted out a “specific strategy” to engage with New Delhi.
“We recognise the enormous growth of India and what it means for our region. Australia context is uniquely placed to expand dramatically its relations with India. That is why we had a specific strategy to engage with India.
“It involves our massive nuclear energy resources, it also involves supporting the needs of growing urban middle class within India,” South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said on the sidelines of the Oz fest here.
“I supported (Prime Minister) Julia Gillard a year ago in reaching the decision to extend access to uranium mining in India. I am proud to second that resolution which will permit a mature relationship between our countries and proper respect for India as an international citizen,” he said.
Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese sought to project a new contemporary image of Australia, and said public perception of the other is invariably cramped in a “time war”, an indirect reference to the violence against Indian students that had rocked bilateral relations two years back.
“Between any two countries the public perception of the other is invariable cramped in a time war, there is always a gap between where a country is and where it is perceived abroad.
“What we want to do with the Oz Fest over the next several months is to covey a more contemporary image of Australia. Give Indian community a sense of what modern Australia is all about,” Varghese said.