As the new CEO of the Australian India Chamber of Commerce, Tully Smith will be spending a lot of time liaising with the local Indian diaspora.
Fortunately for the Point Cook resident, he won’t need to travel very far.
“Very much a happy coincidence” said Mr Smith about the relationship between his new role and living in a suburb renowned for its large Indian ex-pat population.
That said, Point Cook and the surrounding suburbs are certainly front of mind for Mr Smith who began the role promoting trade and investment between the Australia and India, in April.
“We do engage with the Indian business diaspora in Wyndham absolutely” he said, noting that the large Indian population in the municipality cover two of the chamber’s target industries.
“Education is huge for Wyndham and impacts our local community greatly because there’s so many students who call it home.
Information technology is another one because it’s driving immigration and a lot of those people are choosing Wyndham as their home.”
As important is Wyndham will be, the chamber’s other areas of focus such as critical minerals, space, cyber-security and defence, suggest his attention will often be elsewhere.
A former telecommunications executive, Mr Smith came to his current position after serving as General Manager of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia.
Both India and US are huge countries with important relationships with Australia, but Mr Smith noted some key differences.
“The first is the more embryronic trade status that Australia and India have.”
While the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement is long established, a similar agreement with India is still being negotiated and is a major focus for Mr Smith in his new role.
“India will soon be the world’s third largest economy.
The opportunities are boundless but it’s important we get the details right” he said, pointing to tariffs, visa requirements, taxation and market access as especially important.
The chamber’s other focus is what Mr Smith terms ‘how India’, advising Australia businesses on how to achieve success on the sub-continent.
“There’s so much opportunity for Australian businesses in India.
It’s a really exciting space to be in.”
