Australia looks to help state govt with mining tech, skilling

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Bhubaneswar: Australia is keen to help the state government with its expertise in mining exploration services, skilling and technologies, its High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu said here Friday.
Talking to media after a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sidhu appreciated the state government’s thrust on transparency and measures on ease of doing business which she said will help invite commercial firms from Australia for business engagements here. Australia is known world over for its expertise and research on mineral exploration technologies. A significant portion of coal used in making steel in India comes from Australia.
Given that Odisha is a storehouse of some of the major minerals in the country and the state government has put in place a transparent system and mechanism to allocate mineral blocks, there is a lot of potential for bilateral cooperation between the state government and Australia.
She said her government has commissioned a study on Indian Economic Strategy by former Australia’s High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese that has laid stress on 10 areas of mutual collaboration including four priority sectors such as mining and energy, agri-business, education and skilling and tourism.
Australian universities run training programmes on mining exploration and simulation and help Indian students with cutting-edge training. The country has a tie-up with Dhanbad-based Indian School of Mines through Coal India and offers PhD to students.
Sidhu said her country has a large concentration of aboriginals and is willing to partner with the state government in projects designed to establish links between the unique cultures and art of aboriginals of Australia and that of huge number of primitive tribes in Odisha.
She said the Chief Minister has invited Australian companies to take part in the industrial turnaround of the state through its programmes such as ‘Make in Odisha’ and `Skilled-in-Odisha’.
Australia will open its consular office at Kolkata which will work as a hub for her government’s engagements with eastern Indian states in areas of water management, agri-business and mining among others.