South India, with its educational institutions, thriving EV sector, and cultural depth, is central to Australia’s evolving India strategy.
Published Aug 02, 2025 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 02, 2025 | 8:00 AM
Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Philip Green. (Australian govt website)
Synopsis: Australian High Commissioner Philip Green laid out an ambitious vision for growing partnership with India, saying the focus will be more on education, agri-food trade, green energy, and tourism.
Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Philip Green, has laid out a vision for the growing Australia-India partnership, with a strong focus on South India.
In conversation with South First, Green spoke about India not just as a diplomatic ally, but as a vital partner in shaping the future. “We didn’t do a roadmap on Japan. We didn’t do a roadmap on Europe. We didn’t do a roadmap for the United States. We did it in India because that’s one of our truly top priorities, and that identifies four sectors which are going to grow in the next ten years,” Green pointed out, referring to the bilateral blueprint unveiled earlier this year.
South India, with its educational institutions, thriving EV sector, and cultural depth, is central to Australia’s evolving India strategy. Green highlighted four key sectors poised for deep collaboration over the next decade: education, agri-food trade, green energy, and tourism.
On education, he said that Australian universities are no longer just looking to attract Indian students to their shores.
“It shouldn’t be a one-way street,” he remarked. With campuses set to open here, including the University of Western Australia in Chennai, the idea is simple: bring Australia to India. He also revealed that three schools in Karnataka will soon adopt the Western Australian curriculum, allowing students to access world-class pedagogy without leaving home.
In the culinary department, Australia wants to fill Indian plates with premium products like avocados, lamb, and Australian wine, “Which I know that many South Indians like to drink.”
Green energy, too, is a shared goal. Australia’s lithium, crucial for EV batteries, is in demand, especially in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and Green focused on how both states would benefit, “From a direct supply chain of Australian lithium.”
Tourism is also picking up, especially with the direct flight between Bengaluru and Australia. “And that’s going to be a key channel for driving that tourism,” he said.
Culture is where hearts meet. Green fondly recalled the massive success of the Songlines exhibition, which brought indigenous Australian stories to Bengaluru and other parts of India and drew over 100,000 Indian visitors.
“And last year, when they met, prime ministers Modi and Albanese agreed that we would work to do more things together between Australian indigenous peoples and Indian tribal people,” Green said, adding, “So the wonderful museum you have here, MAP (The Museum of Art and Photography), will be in collaboration with the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, QAGOMA to do and this is this will be another Maitri grant, by the way. They will be doing some restoration work on some old lithographs by Raja Ravi Varma.”
Then there’s cricket, the great connector. “Josh Hazlewood was right there at the final of the IPL, batting for your team (RCB). I don’t think he made many friends in Punjab. But it was a big success,” he smiled, indicating how sport bridges geographies faster than diplomacy sometimes can.
The diaspora also plays a key role. With over a million people of Indian origin in Australia, many of them from South India, the relationship is lived and felt daily. Highlighting this, Green applauded Tim Thomas, a Kerala native, now CEO of the Australia-India Centre for Relations.
Green’s long-term vision rests on three pillars:
“Think about our two nations, and what connects us is the Indian Ocean. And that has many opportunities. But there are also risks,” he said, reflecting on the importance of maritime domain awareness and tackling illegal shipping and fishing in shared waters.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
