This follows last week鈥檚 university delegation to India, led by Education Minister Jason Clare, which saw new partnerships forged between our nations and universities.
Ms Jackson said higher education and research were central pillars of the Australia-India relationship, and universities were ready to grasp new opportunities with both hands.
鈥淚t is an honour to be representing universities on this visit to one of our major economic and strategic partners,鈥 Ms Jackson said.
鈥淯niversities fully support the government鈥檚 focus on strengthening Australia鈥檚 ties with India 鈥 one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a very important strategic partner.
鈥淲e especially welcome education being front and centre as our governments move to strengthen the bilateral relationship.
鈥淚ndia is undertaking sweeping reforms of its education sector and they want our help.
鈥淥ur unis stand ready to help India achieve its goals of educating 500 million students by 2035 and look forward to closer collaboration which drives new research breakthroughs that prepare us for the future.
鈥淎ustralia鈥檚 universities have welcomed almost 1.6 million Indian students to campuses across the country since 2005. There are now more Indian students studying in Australia than before the pandemic, making India our second largest and fastest growing international student market.
鈥淚ndian students make a profound cultural and economic contribution to Australia when they choose to study here.
鈥淧re-Covid, education contributed more than $40 billion to Australia鈥檚 economy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 in our national interest to continue strengthening our trade links, and we can do that by educating Indian students in Australia, research collaborations and through our universities having a physical presence in India.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear we are entering a golden era in our trade relationship with India, and we must make the most of it for the social, diplomatic and economic benefit of both our nations.鈥
