28 October 2026 · Sydney · Adelaide
The second Australia–India Business Meet is under way, hosted by the Consulate General of India, Sydney. Here is the full programme, every speaker and panellist the consulate has named, and the priorities Australia and India are putting on the table together.
St. Michael’s Golf ClubMembers Ballroom, Jennifer Street, Little Bay NSW 2036
Deloitte SydneyQuay Quarter Tower, Level 46, 50 Bridge Street, NSW 2000
National Wine CentreExhibition Hall, Adelaide (the agenda lists the venue as to be confirmed)
- Theme
- Industry-Led Conversations on Growth, Investment & Execution
- Host
- Consulate General of India, Sydney
- Edition
- 2nd (first edition held 8–9 October 2025)
- Format
- Ministerial keynotes, industry dialogues, invitation-only executive roundtable, gala dinner, business golf
Day 1 highlights, 28 October
Checked against the printed Day 1 agenda for the Members Ballroom, St. Michael’s Golf Club, Little Bay. It matches the consulate’s web page.
Industry dialogue: Beyond Trade
Keynote: Mr. Sandeep Poundrik, Secretary (Deputy Minister), Ministry of Steel, Government of India, New Delhi.
Panel: Ryan Neelam (CAIR), Chris Gibbs (Matrix Critical Minerals), Dhavalkumar Patel, IAS (Government of Gujarat). Moderator: Dipen Rughani (Newland Global Group).
Golf and B2B meetings
Briefing at 12:30 PM, shotgun start at 1:00 PM. Non-golfers have networking, B2B meetings and visits around Sydney.
Welcome drinks follow from 5:30 PM.
Gala dinner and keynotes
Hon’ble Daniel Mookhey, MLC, The Treasurer, NSW Government, and Hon’ble Rushikesh Ganeshbhai Patel, Minister of Energy and Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat.
Welcome address by Dr S. Janakiraman, then a presentation on Vibrant Gujarat 2027.
Why this meeting matters to both countries
Australia and India already trade under the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, and the two governments are negotiating a wider Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). The consulate’s programme says this year’s discussion moves from market access to what companies actually build together: manufacturing partnerships, technology collaboration and investment.
That framing works for both sides. Each country brings something the other needs, and the programme is written around commercial next steps instead of speeches alone.
What Australia gains
Direct access to Indian companies, industry delegations and potential partners, plus a large market and a deep pool of technical and digital talent.
- Critical minerals, clean energy and defence technology rated among the highest strategic priorities.
- New South Wales and South Australia both have ministers on the programme, so investors hear from state governments directly.
- Universities and research bodies in Adelaide are on the panels, which opens a route for skills and R&D partnerships.
What India gains
Insight into Australian industry priorities and market requirements, and a view of opportunities in New South Wales and South Australia.
- A Government of India Ministry of Steel keynote and a Gujarat delegation led by the state’s Energy and Petrochemicals Minister.
- A “Design in India, Make in Australia” track alongside “Design in Australia, Make in India”.
- Access to Australian resources, agribusiness and healthcare expertise that Indian industry is looking to partner with.
Priorities both countries are putting on the table
The consulate’s page names six focus areas and rates each sector for opportunity size and strategic importance. These are the shared priorities of the meeting. They are the organiser’s framing, not a signed joint statement, and I have kept the organiser’s wording.
Focus sectors listed: agriculture and agribusiness; energy including renewables; space and defence; advanced manufacturing including robotics; IT and ITES; commercialisation.
| Sector | Opportunity size | Strategic importance |
|---|---|---|
| Critical minerals | Very high | Extremely high |
| Clean energy | Very high | Extremely high |
| AI & digital services | Very high | High |
| Education & skills | High | High |
| Agribusiness | High | Medium-high |
| Defence tech | High | Extremely high |
| Infrastructure | High | High |
| Healthcare | Medium-high | High |
Source: organiser’s sector table on the CGI Sydney event page. The squares follow the organiser’s wording on a five-step scale (Medium-high, High, Very high, Extremely high); the page gives no numbers.
Why each priority matters, in the organiser’s logic
- Critical minerals and EV supply chains: strategic, industrial and geopolitical value at once.
- AI and digital services: scale, and India’s talent depth.
- Education and workforce mobility: long-running structural demand on both sides.
- Defence and critical technology: strategic resilience and national security.
- Agritech and food security: population growth and climate pressure.
- Clean energy infrastructure: the net-zero transition and industrial policy.
Three themes cut across every sector: investment, workforce capability and resilient supply chains.
Programme, day by day
Times are local to the venue as published. I added the India Standard Time column for readers in India, assuming daylight saving, which began on 4 October 2026 (Sydney UTC+11, Adelaide UTC+10:30). Programme source: CGI Sydney agenda.
Day 1 · Wednesday 28 October
St. Michael’s Golf Club, Little Bay
Arrival and registration
Industry dialogue: Australia India Economic Engagement, Beyond Trade
Building the next phase of Australia–India industrial partnerships as CECA negotiations progress, with a focus on manufacturing partnerships, technology collaboration and investment flows.
Keynote: Mr. Sandeep Poundrik, Secretary (Deputy Minister), Ministry of Steel, Government of India. Panel: Mr. Ryan Neelam (CEO, Centre for Australia India Relations); Mr. Chris Gibbs (Executive Chairman, Matrix Critical Minerals); Mr. Dhavalkumar Patel, IAS (Commissioner, Geology and Mining, Government of Gujarat). Moderator: Mr. Dipen Rughani (CEO, Newland Global Group).
Networking lunch
Business golf and B2B meetings
Golf briefing at 12:30, shotgun start at 1:00 PM. Non-golfers have networking, B2B meetings and visits around Sydney.
Gala dinner and keynote addresses
Welcome by Dr S. Janakiraman, followed by a presentation on Vibrant Gujarat 2027.
Keynotes: Hon’ble Daniel Mookhey, MLC, The Treasurer, NSW Government; Hon’ble Rushikesh Ganeshbhai Patel, Minister of Energy and Petrochemicals, Panchayat and Rural Housing, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Gujarat.
Day 2 · Thursday 29 October
Deloitte Sydney, Quay Quarter Tower
Welcome remarks
Dr. S. Janakiraman, Consul General of India in Sydney; Manish Mehndiratta, Director, Deloitte Sydney.
Keynote: New South Wales–India, the next growth opportunity
How NSW and India can deepen their economic partnership through investment, industry and innovation.
Hon’ble Anoulack Chanthivong MP, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building.
Building Competitive Industries: The Australia–India Partnership
Production economics, market access, technology ownership and policy settings.
Speakers: Mike Wright (InQuik, Australia); Roopwant Singh IAS (Former MD, GMDC, Gujarat); Sandeep Nicholson (Reliance Consumer Products, Australia); Sachin Patel (Sachin Industries, India). Moderator: Natasha Jha Bhaskar (Newland Global Group).
Address by Hon’ble Rushikesh Ganeshbhai Patel
Minister of Energy and Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat.
The Business of Growth: An Australia–India Leadership Dialogue
A candid conversation on building across the two markets: how leaders spot opportunities, choose partners and manage risk.
Speakers: Maurice Newman (Former Chairman, ASX); Dhavalkumar Patel, IAS (Commissioner, Geology and Mining, Government of Gujarat). Moderator: Dipen Rughani.
From Innovation to Commercial Scale: “Design in Australia, Make in India; and Design in India, Make in Australia”
Turning pilots into repeatable commercial deployment across technology, manufacturing, digital infrastructure and medtech.
Speakers: Sammy Wallwork (Extel Technologies, Australia); Kanika Singroha (Cellverse, India); Shreyans Goyal (Shakti Group of Companies, India); Ajay Balaji (Almetech Automation, India). Moderator: Natasha Jha Bhaskar.
Australia–India Executive Roundtable (invitation only)
Localisation, partner alignment, operating models and concrete next steps for promising partnerships.
Day 3 · Friday 30 October
Adelaide
Opening remarks
Dr. S. Janakiraman, Consul General of India in Sydney.
Ministerial keynote: South Australia–India, the next growth opportunity
Hon’ble Chris Picton MP, Minister for State Development, Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy, Minister for Defence and Space Industries.
The Investment Decision: South Australia and India
What gives a business the confidence to invest, set up operations and grow in another market.
Speakers: Chris Wood (Invest SA, Government of South Australia); Lori Hocking (Pro Vice Chancellor, Adelaide University); Karlene Maywald (Former SA Govt Water Ambassador and Minister for Water Security). Moderator: Dipen Rughani.
Building Industrial Advantage: Australia–India Partnerships in Practice
Industrial AI, engineering simulation and medical-device manufacturing.
Speakers: Tim White (Executive Director, SA Govt); Mark Carey (CEO, Hydro-dis); Shameek Chaudhuri (Avyakta Law/IP, India); Abe Chandra (Founder & Managing Director, SABRN); Romy Lawson (Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, Flinders University). Moderator: Natasha Jha Bhaskar.
The Technology Advantage: Building Competitive Businesses
Autonomous systems, robotics, enterprise software and biotechnology; how IP, contracts and regulation shape growth.
Speakers: Brett Hill (CEO, Praetorian Aeronautics); Kailash Sriram (Managing Director, IPACS, Adelaide University); Shameek Chaudhuri (Avyakta Law/IP); Rakesh Prabhakar (Zoho, ITES, India); Kanika Singroha (Cellverse). Moderator: Natasha J Bhaskar.
Every named speaker and panellist
32 people are named across the Sydney and Adelaide programmes. Titles are copied as the consulate lists them. The page’s separate “Participants” section was empty when I checked on 28 October 2026, so this directory covers the speakers and panellists only. Country tags follow the country shown next to each name or role on the page; where none is shown, no tag is given. Profile links go to official or public pages that clearly match the person or their organisation; where I could not find a reliable page, there is no link.
Governments and public bodies
Source: CGI Sydney, Speakers and Agenda.
Industry
Source: CGI Sydney, Speakers and Agenda.
Universities
Source: CGI Sydney, Agenda.
Moderators and venue host
Source: CGI Sydney, Speakers and Agenda.
Collaborators
The consulate’s page shows these organisations as collaborators. Three more logos on the page carry no readable name in the page code, so I have left them out until the consulate confirms them.
- The India Way
- Newland Global Group
- FICCI
- SBI Australia
- Deloitte
- Government of South Australia
- Bank of Baroda
- AVATAA Australia
Source: CGI Sydney, Collaborators.
Where the first edition left off
The first Business Meet ran on 8–9 October 2025 in Sydney, at the same golf club on Day 1 and at KPMG, Barangaroo on Day 2. Its sessions covered critical minerals, technology scale-up and smart manufacturing, and the page framed the goal as growing two-way trade and investment under the 2022 agreement. The “Design in Australia, Make in India” idea started there and now has a mirror image this year.
See the 1st Australia–India Business Meet 2025 page for the earlier speaker list. The page reports aims and targets, not results.
Other Australia–India business activity this season
- The Australia India Business Council marks 40 years in 2026, with a gala in Sydney on 14 October 2026 and another in Chennai planned for late 2026. AIBC sponsorship page.
- Australian Industry Group and the Confederation of Indian Industry ran a business roundtable in Sydney on 23 June 2026. Ai Group event page.
- The Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce hosted its delegation at the Sydney consulate’s business lounge in 2024. IACC conclave report.
My view: both sides need people, not just capital
Every sector on the programme runs on skilled people. Critical minerals, clean energy, healthcare, AI and digital services all need trained graduates and experienced workers, and the organiser’s own table lists education and workforce mobility as a long-running structural need on both sides.
For students in Punjab and Haryana, and for their parents, this is a useful map. Course choice and skill-building make more sense when you can see which industries the two governments are backing. For Australian universities and employers, India’s talent base is a natural partner. For Indian companies, Australia offers resources, research and a regulated, stable market. Both countries gain when the link is built on real projects.
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Sources and further reading
- The 2nd Australia-India Business Meet 2026, Consulate General of India, Sydney. Programme, speakers, venues, sector table and collaborators.
- 1st Australia-India Business Meet 2025, Consulate General of India, Sydney.
- Consulate General of India, Sydney, official website.
- Australia–India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- ECTA outcomes, DFAT.
- Australia–India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), DFAT.
- The Australia–India Annual Summit: from ECTA to CECA, and what it means for business, Clayton Utz, July 2026.
- India–Australia Trade Relations 2026: ECTA, CECA Talks, and Key Sectors for Business, India Briefing.
- Australia India Business Council, 2026 events.
- Australia-India business roundtable with CII delegation, Australian Industry Group.
- IACC 21st Business Mission to Australia, business conclave, Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce.
