Hyderabad: India is the fastest-growing large economy in the world, and there’s not an economic unit on the planet that is not taking India seriously, said Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green in Hyderabad on Thursday, underlining India’s growing strategic and economic significance in Australia’s foreign policy priorities.Green was speaking at the launch of the 14th edition of the Australia-India Youth Dialogue (AIYD) in Hyderabad. Regarded as the premier Track-II young leaders’ dialogue between the two countries, the AIYD annually brings together 15 delegates each from India and Australia to strengthen cooperation across policy, business, technology, and civil society.Describing the India-Australia relationship as one driven by “strategic alignment, economic complementarity, and the human bridge,” Green said both countries increasingly view each other as key partners in the Indo-Pacific region.“Our national defence strategy, launched just two weeks ago, declares India a top-tier security partner for Australia,” he said, adding that military cooperation between the two nations had increased significantly over the past decade.Green said Australia and India complement each other economically rather than compete. He pointed to Australia’s strengths in energy, minerals, critical resources, and education, which could support India’s growing economic and industrial ambitions.Speaking to TOI, Green highlighted student mobility between the two countries. He said nearly 1.3 lakh Indian students are currently studying in Australia, with numbers expected to continue growing steadily. He further noted Australia’s push to expand educational opportunities within India through foreign university campuses.“When the Government of India opened opportunities for foreign branch campuses, the first two universities to establish campuses were Australian — Deakin University and the University of Wollongong,” he said. More Australian universities are expected to open campuses in cities including Chennai, Mumbai, Noida, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, he added.Concerns regarding housing pressures and anti-immigrant sentiment in Australia affecting international students were also raised during the interaction. Responding to the concerns, Green said Australia remained “one of the most welcoming countries on the planet” and described recent anti-immigrant protests as representing only “a very small minority of Australian opinion.”“We have an avowedly multicultural society. More than a million people of Indian origin now live in Australia and are making an outsized contribution to our society,” he said.Telangana special chief secretary for information technology and industries Jayesh Ranjan, who was also present at the event, elaborated on the state govt’s ‘Telangana Rising 2047’ vision document. He said Telangana aims to contribute nearly $3 trillion to India’s projected $30 trillion economy by 2047.Ranjan also spoke about Telangana’s long-term plans in areas including achieving net-zero goals, strengthening sports infrastructure, promoting eco-tourism, and expanding innovation-led economic growth.“Hyderabad’s growing global presence and strong talent ecosystem position the state as an important partner for international collaborations such as the Australia-India Youth Dialogue,” he said.
