New Delhi [India], September 25 (ANI): India and Australia should deepen mutual recognition agreements between their accounting bodies to enable a seamless flow of chartered accountants between the two countries, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

Virtually addressing the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) 1st Oceania International Conference 2026, Goyal said India and Australia have decided to work towards a "very balanced" Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to further strengthen bilateral ties.

"We have decided to work towards our very balanced CEPA which will also take our relationship to greater heights," he said.

The Minister also said India and Australia are working towards a bilateral investment treaty as the two countries seek to build a trusted partnership highlighting the complementary strengths of the two economies.

Calling on accounting bodies in both countries to deepen cooperation, Goyal said, "I think institutes like the ICAI, CA ANZ and CPA Australia can work together through deeper mutual recognition agreements so that we can have a seamless flow of Australian chartered accountants coming to India, just as Indian chartered accountants serve Australia."

Adding to this, the Minister also said that chartered accountants could emerge as "compliance architects" of the India-Australia partnership and serve as bridge builders between the two economies.

Goyal also called for higher standards of governance and greater cooperation in innovation and education between India and Australia.

Highlighting opportunities in education, he said Australian universities and Indian students complement each other and urged stakeholders to help build stronger educational links between the two countries. 

If we look at the bilateral trade between the two countries, India was Australia's fifth-largest trading partner in 2025, with bilateral trade in goods and services valued at USD 50.2 billion, as per the government data.  

In FY2024-25, Australia exported goods and services worth USD 32 billion to India and imported USD 18 billion from the country. At the end of 2025, Australia's investment stock in India stood at USD 26.8 billion, while India's investment stock in Australia was valued at USD 45.3 billion. (ANI)