India has been appointed Official Partner Country for CeBIT Australia 2012
The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, accepted the formal invitation of the Prime Minister of Australia, Ms Julia Gillard, to be Partner Country.
A senior government official from India, representing the Prime Minister, will travel to Australia and officially open CeBIT Australia 2012 in May, with a corresponding Government official from Australia.
India will also send a diplomatic and business trade delegation, representing industries both within and beyond the ICT sector, leading to further developed trade and bilateral relations between India and Australia.
India is Australia’s 7th largest trading partner, with a total of A$21.0 billion of trade recorded between the two countries in 2010/11.
Australian exports to India during this period totalled $A18.2 billion, while India’s exports to Australia were A$2.8 billion. (Source: Market Information and Research Section, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
India’s participation at CeBIT Australia has been growing steadily over the past years, as more and more companies use CeBIT as a launching place into the Australian market.
In 2011, India had a 90sqm country pavilion. A 135sqm pavilion has already been booked for CeBIT Australia 2012, with additional space to be confirmed shortly.
2011 Partner Country – Germany
CeBIT Australia’s inaugural partner country was Germany, Australia’s 10th largest bilateral trade partner. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle travelled to Australia and opened CeBIT Australia alongside the Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd at the Sydney Opera House. Minister Westerwelle was accompanied by a political and trade delegation, including Stephan Weil (Lord Mayor of Hannover and Member of Deutsche Messe Supervisory Board), and and made a global political economic and trade speech at CeBIT, his only public address whilst in Australia.
Background
The Partner Country Program is based on the program run by Deutsche Messe for its two major shows in Hannover which sees a country appointed by Deutsche Messe in direct consultation with the German State and Federal governments, depending on Germany’s strategic policy priorities, and the leader of that country leader traveling to Hannover to open the show with the German Chancellor.
The Partner Country program has proved highly successful for the ICT sector in Germany, but the benefits go well beyond the technology sector. It is a strategically important annual initiative that has enabled the German government to broaden bi-lateral trade and cultural ties with the countries involved – and attract high levels of international media attention.
The Partner Country leader travels to Germany with an accompanying business, trade and political delegation, and opens the show with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The countries/states and their leaders that have recently been Partner Countries of CeBIT and Hannover Messe are:
CeBIT
| Year | Country | Person |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Brazil | President Dilma Vana Rousseff |
| 2011 | Turkey | Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
| 2010 | Spain | Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero |
| 2009 | California | Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| 2008 | France | President Nicolas Sarkozy |
| 2007 | Russia | President Vladimir Putin |
Hannover Messe
| Year | Country | Person |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | China | President Hu Jintao |
| 2011 | France | President Nicolas Sarkozy |
| 2010 | Italy | Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi |
| 2009 | Korea | Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook |
| 2008 | Japan | Envoy for the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abeand |
| 2007 | Turkey | Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan |
| 2006 | India | Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh |