Australian PM Scott Morrison on Wednesday announced the establishment of a new consulate general in Bengaluru.
Australia has announced the strengthening of technology partnership with India through the establishment of a new consulate-general in Bengaluru and a Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy, also to be based in India, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Wednesday on the eve of PM Narendra Modi’s participation at the Sydney Dialogue.
Morrison, who had earlier launched the inaugural edition of the Sydney Dialogue on Wednesday, also unveiled Australia’s plans during a virtual address to the Bengaluru Tech Summit, noting that technology is at the forefront of the comprehensive strategic partnership he signed with the Indian prime minister in 2020.
The new consulate will focus on deepening Australia’s ties with “India’s vibrant innovators, technologists and entrepreneurs” and support Australian businesses in “one of the world’s most important commercial centres”, Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne said in a statement.
The new centre of excellence will elevate cooperation under an existing cyber and critical technology partnership and bring together Australian and Indian technologists, policy practitioners, academics, researchers and thought leaders, Ms Payne said.
“It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that will help guide the responsible development and use of critical technologies,” she said.
Noting that the Bengaluru Consulate-General will expand Australia’s diplomatic presence in India to five diplomatic posts, Morrison said the post will deepen ties with innovators and the government.
“Bengaluru is the world’s fastest growing technology hub – of course, we want to be part of it. It is home to a third of India’s unicorn companies,” he said.
