FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The progress we’ve made and the exciting journey ahead. Join us to create greater impact

2022-’23 was a successful year for the Chamber, both in terms of delivering on priority India-Australia initiatives as well as our financial performance for the Chamber YoY. Perpetually moving forward, it was satisfying though to quickly look back at our performance and note that for three consecutive years (2020-’23), we have demonstrated that we are a small yet high-performing, financially viable company. We value the confidence that our members and stakeholders have in us and with their support and feedback, we continue to strive to build a robust and more prosperous India-Australia business community.

On the economic side, the bilateral relationship has never been stronger. Australia’s two-way goods and services trade with India was $34.3 billion in 2021. Australia's stock of investment in India was $19.9 billion in 2021 and India’s total investment in Australia was $27.8 billion. Many of us, including Chamber members have had the opportunity to share our views with the Australian and Indian Governments on the AI-ECTA (Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement) and eagerly look forward to the CECA (Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement).

In 2022-’23 we had 15 Chamber-led initiatives and over 15 partner events. We launched our Northern India Chapter and two more leadership forums – Infrastructure and F&B and Agribusiness. We’re delighted to expand our pan-India offering to members at the cost of just a single membership - business engagement/networking opportunities across five Chapters and six active industry sector leadership forums, with a few more priority sector forums scheduled to be launched in 2023-’24.

All this would not have been possible without the collective efforts of our dynamic Presidents – Past Presidents Sanjeev Bajaj & Deepak Padaki (who represented ANZ & Infosys, respectively) and current President Gaven Standon (representing Telstra). We draw support from a large base of business leaders who voluntarily serve as Chapter Chairpersons/VPs, Leadership Forum Co-chairs, on the Board, Council and Committees. Our leadership team works collaboratively with our hardworking Secretariat and key stakeholders – members, Corporate Patron/Lifetime members, the Australian and Indian Governments, partners, sponsors and well-wishers.

As CEO of the Chamber, I assure you that our members will always be at the heart of what we do and we will work tirelessly to facilitate new business opportunities and engagement for you.

Thank you once again for your support and friendship. I’m sure we will together achieve even greater heights of impact and success in the coming year. We welcome your participation and I’d love to hear from you. To get in touch, please write to trade@indoaustchamber.com.

Sincerely,

Petula Thomas