India is in talks with Australia to chart out a deal that allows Indian workers to go there and receive training in building homes as per local standards to help build housing projects Down Under, said India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.
"I am in deep negotiation with my counterpart in Australia to create 1 million homes. 1 million homes. Anybody wants to do the maths? A million homes in Australia would be at least USD 500 billion opportunity," the minister said.
While he did not elaborate on the details of the project, including where the homes would be built in Australia or how much Canberra would spend on it, Goyal did reveal that India has reached out to UAE – a significant investor in Indian real estate – to help financially in order to fund the USD 500 billion project.
In remarks made during a meeting with a visiting trade delegation from the UAE that is led by its Trade Minister, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Goyal said he has also put forth a proposal for partnership to the Gulf nation.
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"I talked to Thani to see if we can do a partnership to help us fund this massive opportunity," the Union Minister said.
Highlighting India’s impending tie-ups with various nations, Goyal said we need to “grasp these openings”.
"It's for us to grasp these openings. If we miss out, we will have only ourselves to blame," he added.
India and Australia are also negotiating a free trade agreement, especially as New Delhi was publically backed by Canberra after being slapped with 50 per cent tariffs by the US.
While Goyal did stress on India’s engagement with US to resolve the “issues” of tariff imposition, he said the country will be undeterred in the face of the US action and will continue to scout for newer markets for its goods.
India’s exports will grow over USD 825 billion in FY25 despite the tariffs in one of its most important markets setting-in from August, he asserted.
Next on the cards, said the minister, are deals with Oman, New Zealand, the European Union, and Qatar, where he would be travelling next week.
The agreement with the EU – a USD 17 trillion bloc – can be concluded earlier as well, he added, saying Union Commerce Secretary, Sunil Barthwal, will be meeting officials in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday for the same.
Meanwhile the EU’s trade representatives will also be visiting India next month in the lead-up to a ministerial visit from September 12, Goyal informed.
“Chile and Peru in South America are very keen to fast track the engagement,” he further stated.
South Africa is among the latest countries to evince interest in forging a trade pact with India, Goyal said, adding that there is progress on similar pacts with Eastern European powers as well.
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