New Delhi

Close on the heels of Quad foreign ministers meet in Melbourne, Australian high commissioner to India Barry O'Farrell has said that the gathering is a sign of return to "in-person meetings".

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Speaking exclusively to WION’s Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal, envoy Barry called the “incredibly important meeting” a demonstration of “four countries talking about the need to maintain a rules-based order within our region”. 

On Friday, the foreign ministers of India, Australia, the US & Japan met in Melbourne in an in-person meet after a gap of over one year. The last in-person meeting took place in Japan in 2020.

In Delhi, the Indian and Australian Trade Ministers announced that an interim free trade agreement (FTA) would be finalised in a month's time.

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Meanwhile, speaking on the possibility of the India-Australia-France trilateral meeting in Paris, the envoy said that the 3 countries have “never lost sight” to the “commitment on the Indo pacific”. 

The ties between Australia and France had nosedived following the singing of the AUKUS pact between Washington, London and Canberra, a fallout that was seen on another trilateral meeting.

WION: How do you see the Quad meet that happened in Melbourne, in terms of its significance?

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Barry O'Farrell: It is an incredibly important meeting that is demonstrated by the in-person presence of foreign ministers of four countries who are talking about the need to maintain a rules-based order in our region. That fits nicely with what we are doing in Delhi. Both Indian and Australian governments are trying to prioritise growth to make counting strong at the time of geopolitical uncertainty

WION: China has hit out at Quad. What are your views on that?

Barry O'Farrell: Great thing about this is that Quad countries continue to do what they do, focusing on practical things that are impacting people's lives in the Indo-Pacific—climate change, health, securing supply chains to build the economies. What we are doing in Delhi today is in line with what the Quad wants—which is free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific, rules-based system.

WION: In Delhi, it has been decided that an interim FTA will be signed this month. How far progress has been made?

Barry O'Farrell: Notably, considerable progress is being made. Both the countries’ PMs will be happy when they get a report on what is going on in the last couple of days. But ultimately, what we seeking to do is to maximize the opportunity within both countries and to assist each other to grow economies, create jobs, give people better- iving standards and deliver free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific, which PM Modi said is the sacred duty of Australia and India.

WION: A Memorandum of Understanding on tourism was also signed. How will it help in increasing tourism?

Barry O'Farrell: It will become convenient for Indians to come to Australia from February 21, when our borders will be open. Currently, no extra cost on visas is levied. But this is just a return to what was happening during the pre-pandemic when we saw strong tourism between India and Australia. It was not just Indians coming to Australia, but Australians were also going to India.

WION: Can we see more high-level visits between the two sides?

Barry O'Farrell: What we have seen with the Quad meeting today is the return to normalcy—the return of in-person meetings. We have seen trade negotiators from Australia this week. Our trade minister is meeting face-to-face with his Indian counterpart. We will see Indian ministers going to Australia in a couple of months.

WION: Australian FM is going to France. It is an important visit. Will we see India-France-Australia trilateral meet, given the AUKUS somewhat might turned out to be a wheel back?

Barry O'Farrell: One thing is that France, Australia and India have never lost sight of their commitment to the Indo-Pacific. Fact that the Australian FM is going to Paris later this month is a great thing, but whether the proposed trilateral happen is up to the Indian and French foreign ministers as well.