New Delhi, April 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday described the signing of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) pact as a “watershed moment” in the bilateral relations. Addressing the virtual signing ceremony along with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, PM Modi said the signing of the trade agreement would not only help boost economic ties and people to people relations between the two nations, it would also help them together increase the resilience of supply chains and contribute to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region. PM Modi said he is holding talks with Morrison for the third time in less than a month, referring to their virtual summit last month and the Quad leaders virtual meeting. He said the two sides had held very productive talks during their virtual summit on March 21. “The last time we directed our teams to quickly conclude the negotiations on the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, I am very happy that today this major agreement is being inked,” he said and congratulated the trade ministers of the two sides and officials for the “extraordinary achievement” of concluding the negotiations in a short time. He also conveyed his special appreciation to former Australia PM and now PM Morrison’s trade envoy Tony Abbott, for his special efforts that led to the negotiations gathering pace. “To conclude the negotiations in such a short time on such an important agreement shows the extent of trust between both nations. This is indeed a watershed moment in our bilateral relations,” the PM said. “This agreement holds great potential to boost the cooperation between our two economies to fullfil each other’s requirements. I have full confidence that this agreement will tap the full potential of the opport ties in each other’s countries. Through this agreement we can together increase the resilience of supply chains and also contribute to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region,” the PM said. “People to people relations are an important foundation of the India-Australia partnership. This agreement will make the exchanges between our students, professionals and tourists, even stronger.” He conveyed his best wishes to PM Morrison for the Australian elections and to the women’s cricket team for tomorrow’s world cup finals. RN