Minister Piyush Goyal seeks investment from Australian pension funds

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday sought investments from Australian pension funds in sectors such as renewable energy, manufacturing, education, fintech, and agritech.

The minister is in Australia to participate in the Joint Ministerial Commission of the two countries.

He also held a meeting with Tania Constable, CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia, regarding ways to strengthen collaboration in the critical minerals sector between India and Australia.

"Minister met senior representatives from the Australian pension funds. Discussions focused on the robust policies and reform agenda of the Government of India which have boosted investor confidence. Minister encouraged greater investments into the emerging sectors in the Indian market," the commerce ministry said in a statement.

Critical minerals, such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel and rare earths, play a crucial role in the production of clean energy technologies, from wind turbines to electric cars.

Such minerals are in demand for the production of batteries for electric cars.

During his meeting with Joel Katz, Managing Director of the Cruise Lines International Association, Goyal discussed opportunities for enhancing coastal tourism in India.

The commerce minister also interacted with Robin Khuda, Founder and CEO of AirTrunk, and discussed India's digitalisation growth and the significant potential for collaboration in the data infrastructure sector between the two nations.

Australia is the 25th largest investor in India with foreign direct investments of USD 1.5 billion from April 2000 and June 2024.