PA/08/12 22 March 2012
Seventh Sir John Crawford Lecture
Opportunities for Australia and India to work together in the G20
Dr Gordon de Brouwer, Australia’s G20 Sherpa, speaking at the Seventh Sir John Crawford Lecture in Delhi on 20 March, called on Australia and India to engage more closely in areas of mutual interest in the G20 to deliver concrete outcomes in international economic cooperation.
“Keeping the G20’s eye on the prize of growth and employment has been a constant message from both Australia and India” Dr de Brouwer said. “We have a shared and growing bilateral interest in infrastructure, food security and energy and resource security, among other things, and these are obvious areas where Australia and India could work more closely together in the G20”, Dr de Brouwer added.
Dr de Brouwer’s address focused on the significance of the G20 Leaders’ process which since 2008 has emerged as a critical piece of the global economic architecture.
He said “If used strategically, the G20 is a powerful tool to ensure that the economic growth and rise of emerging market economies is a global success. Using the G20 flexibly is a key way to achieve this.” He added “This is certainly the view that Australia takes as we engage in the G20 and prepare for chairing the forum in 2014”.
The lecture marked the 20th anniversary of the Australia-India Council and was hosted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). India’s Chief Economic Advisor, Dr Kaushik Basu, was the chief guest at the Sir John Crawford lecture and delivered responding remarks to Dr de Brouwer’s lecture.
Dr de Brouwer is Associate Secretary (Domestic Policy) in the Australian Department of The Prime Minister and Cabinet. He is also Australia’s G20 Sherpa. Dr de Brouwer is a member of the advisory panel for Australian Prime Minister Gillard’s White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century, which is intended to provide a framework for policies to support Australia’s longer-term engagement with Asia.
Established in 2001, the prestigious Crawford Lecture series provides a forum for eminent Australians to deliver lectures in India on topics of common public interest. It aims at exchange of expertise and promotion of professional links and understanding between the two countries. The lecture series is a joint initiative of the Australia-India Council, the Australian High Commission in New Delhi and the NCAER to commemorate the contributions of well-known Australian scientist, the late Sir John Crawford, who helped pioneer the Green Revolution in India.