New Delhi, Sep 25 : Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday announced the setting up of an office for trade promotion in Australia's Sydney as bilateral trade continues to surge between the two nations.

The trade promotion office, with representatives of Invest India, the NICDC, the ECGC, and other officials related to trade and tourism, along with the private sector represented by the CII, will act as a bridge between investors and businesses on both sides.

Addressing a joint press conference in Adelaide along with Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, Goyal said the focus is to upscale the partnerships in trade, investment, tourism and technology.

"India and Australia are working towards strengthening the Economic-Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) through the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). The ECTA agreement has resulted in market access to both sides and resulted in a significant increase in merchandise trade," he said.

The Commerce Minister highlighted Australia's role in India's journey through greater trade, exchange of technologies, common goals for sustainability, and provision of high-tech services and investment.

"India offers advantages of 4 Ds - democracy, demographic dividend, demand and decisive leadership -- with leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, willing to reform, perform and transform the country," the minister added.

Talking about 10 years of the 'Make in India' initiative, Minister Goyal said the programme provided provisions for 'plug and play' for infrastructure, a single-window system for approvals, easing compliance burden, decriminalising laws, opening up FDI in newer sectors and encouraging the startup ecosystem, signifying a multi-pronged approach to attract manufacturing in India.

He spoke about a lot of promises between the 'Make in India' and the 'Make in Australia' programme to exchange technologies, and opportunities and encourage businesses to work with each other.

According to the government, the India-Australia bilateral trade (in goods and services) has crossed $48 billion, and it's expected to double to nearly $100 billion in the next five years.

/IANS