Australia stresses need for deeper involvement with India

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Wednesday stressed the need for forging a deeper engagement with India in sectors of energy, defense and security, apart from trade in commodities between the two countries. \"For Australia, our goal is for a partnership with India, which reflects our standing along with the U.S., Japan, China, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea, as one of the handful of countries which matter most to Australia. We both have huge energy needs. There is a good potential for partnership in energy sector,\" visiting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in the national capital. The Australian Prime Minister is currently on a three-day state visit to India. She also announced that both India and Australia have agreed upon joint researches and development on clean energy, water and sustainable agriculture. \"We are looking forward to a truly liberalizing and comprehensive Australia-India Economic Cooperation Agreement so that investment can flow,\" Gillard said. The bilateral trade between India and Australia is now pegged at 21 billion U.S. dollars. Gillard also stressed on the need for common maritine security interests. \"We both want security of maritime routes. And we both seek to build habits of cooperation and trust across our region,\" she said.