Australian Deputy Prime MinisterWayne Swan will visit India to discuss business opportunities between the twocountries, his office said Monday.
Swan was expected to depart for India Mondaynight. He will meet with India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, seniorgovernment officials and business leaders.
"India is an emergingeconomic powerhouse and one of Australia's closest regional partners, so thisvisit will be a great opportunity to build on our strong friendship and ourgrowing economic ties," he said in a statement.
"India is Australia'sfourth largest merchandise export destination and my visit will help ensure weare well-positioned to improve on this strong relationship," he said.
India's stellar growth over the past twodecades has seen it become the world's third largest economy, and it isprojected to grow at an annual rate of about 6 percent to 2025.
"India and Australia areboth affected by the uncertainty besetting the US and European economies, andmy Indian counterparts and I have argued strongly for action to address theirunderlying problems, particularly at the G20," Swan said.
"During my visit I lookforward to meeting with India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, and leadingeconomists and senior business leaders from both Indian and Australian firms todiscuss the opportunities unfolding in India and the region," he added.
Earlier in October, Australian Prime MinisterJulia Gillard visited India and highlighted about the opportunities that existin the region and sought enhanced economic engagement with the country. Bothcountries have set a goal of $40 billion bilateral trade by2015.