By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG, May 6: Australia is looking to bridge the gap between its ‘First Nations’ and Northeast India’s tribal communities while eyeing Shillong as a potential destination for Australian university footprints, Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Philip Green revealed on Wednesday while on a special visit to Shillong.
He was speaking at a special event hosted by the Asian Confluence titled “Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal: Emerging Contours in Australia–India Partnerships: Engaging the North-East Indian States.”
The event marked the inaugural edition of Asian Confluence’s ‘Signature Series’ which seeks to convene diplomats, policymakers, civil society and academia to engage in critical discussions on contemporary geopolitical developments in the Bay of Bengal and the wider Indo-Pacific region. It aims to generate policy-relevant insights, strengthen bilateral and regional dialogue, and foreground the strategic significance of Northeast India.
Besides the High Commissioner, the event was attended by Prof C Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore and Advisor, Asian Confluence, and Ambassador Rajiv Kumar Bhatia, Member, Governing Council, Asian Confluence and Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House.
Delivering the keynote address on “Strategy, Connectivity, Development: Where our Interests Intersect in India’s North East and the Bay of Bengal”, High Commissioner Green said, “Our interests are converging as never before.”
He highlighted the deepening defence and security partnership. India is now one of Australia’s top-tier strategic partners, with the number of joint military exercises tripling over the past decade.
Economically, the two nations were highly complementary. India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, needed energy, minerals, metals, and quality education — all strengths of Australia. Supported by over $250 million in new Australian funding and the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed four years ago, trade was surging. While India’s global exports grew 40% in five years, its exports to Australia jumped 200%.
The Ambassador then spoke warmly of the living bridge between the nations. More than a million Indian-origin people now live in Australia — 4% of the population and its fastest-growing community. They are twice as likely to hold master’s degrees, 1.5 times more likely to start businesses, and highly active in community life. On cricket fields, Singh and Patel rank among the top surnames.
Turning to the strategic outlook, Ambassador Green noted a more contested world, especially in the Indo-Pacific. Australia sees India as a natural partner in upholding the rules-based order, ensuring freedom of navigation, and maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean, through which much of Australia’s critical exports pass. A new Maritime Security Cooperation Roadmap is expected soon, and both countries are working together through the Quad and IORA.
He also expressed interest in India’s Northeast. Through the SARIC initiative, Australia is supporting better regional connectivity. He cited a recent success in Bhutan, where modest Australian support helped unlock an $815 million hydropower project that will supply clean power to India.
In conclusion, Ambassador Green suggested future opportunities in energy trade, cultural exchanges between Australia’s First Nations and Northeast tribal communities, and greater Australian university presence in Shillong.
Earlier, in his opening speech, Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia said that the Asian Confluence has emerged as a think tank where issues of India’s North East and its borders can be actively discussed so that what emerges from the discussions can be flagged with the relevant ministries.
Prof C Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, and one of India’s lead commentators on Foreign Policy, stated that the recent political changes in Bengal and Assam could open up new vistas for regional co-operation. He also observed that the new governments in Nepal and Bangladesh are opportunities for co-operation.
Referring to Trump’s policy on trade and other issues vis-à-vis India, Raja Mohan said that the Indo-US relationship for the last 10 years is not doing too badly. “Trump’s a reality we need to deal with.” Stating that global trading systems have changed after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was rendered powerless, Raja Mohan said India should ask itself: “How do we reform after WTO ensures that QUAD works in the interests of the member countries by keeping in mind the first principles of cooperation?”
Sabyasachi Dutta welcomed the guests comprising academic, media persons, former diplomats and serving civil servants and NGOs and said that Asian Confluence provides the platform to engage on critical issues related to India’s Northeast and its borders vis-à-vis the Bay of Bengal ,which in a sense is the closest to the region.
