Australia-India institute launch

Updated on: Thursday, September 03, 2009

Kolkata: Australia’s visiting Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, launched the Australia-India Institute to be located at the University of Melbourne on September 1.

She announced $8.106 million (Rs 32 crore) funding to support the Australia-India Institute. The University of Melbourne and its university partners in Australia, the University of New South Wales and La Trobe University, will invest another $2 million (Rs 8 crore) in the Institute, bringing the total investment in the project to more than $10 million (Rs 40 crore) over the next three years.

The Institute will work closely also with the Australia-India Business Council to support mutual trade and investment.

Gillard said that several areas of priority research of interest to both countries have been identified. These include:

•    the environment, issues of food and water security, resources and climate change
•    health, particularly public health and bio-pharmaceutics
•    regional relationships through trade, investment, diplomacy and policy
•    education, with major reforms underway in both countries.

Joint workshops, involving researchers and policy makers, are already scheduled to initiate the Institute’s programs for water security under climate change and for cooperation in public health.

Gillard is also Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion.

Australia-India institute launch

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