Australia is not likely to support Pakistan in getting off the grey list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in their meeting to be held next month. While China has been trying to lobby to get Pakistan on the White List—and has got support from three other members—Australia still believes that Pakistan needs to do more.
“We have continued to support the grey listing because our assessment on a technical basis has been that it has not met the requirements,’’ said Harinder Sidhu, Australian High Commissioner to India, interacting with journalists. “Our approach to FATF has been to take a very technical approach, that is, in fact, the most objective way to assess to what we are trying to get to: we really want to have a good outcome, which means Pakistan complying with the requirements that are imposed on it. …We take a technical approach, we assess Pakistan’s progress in objective terms against where it has got to thus far,’’ she said.
Australia, at this stage, had not seen enough “progress’’ by Pakistan to get off the grey list, said Sidhu. “That is not to say that if Pakistan were to improve its performance, we may not consider it differently,’’ she said.
Asked if she thought Pakistan would be on the black list, Sidhu said: “We will make that assessment when we have enough evidence to do that. I am not going to predict, what the outcome of the technical assessment will be.”
One of the most popular envoys to India, Sidhu—apart from having a personal connection to India—has also been at the heart of adding warmth to the India-Australia relationship. The relationship, which has seen a considerable reset in the last few years, has witnessed an “uptick’’ in the pace of the bilateral ties.
“This is particularly in the defence and strategic relationship,’’ said Sidhu. “It is very clear that the leading part of the bilateral relationship is the defence and strategic story.’’ In 2014, India and Australia had 11 separate defence activities. In 2019, the two countries had 39, including a complex naval exercise off the coast of Visakhapatnam. “Apart from military bonds, India and Australia had also deepened their economic relationship. We talk about the economic relationship far beyond the free trade agreement,’’ said Sidhu. She said FTA used to be the only conversation between the two countries when she came in 2016. An Economic Strategy for India to 2035, drafted by a former Austrailan High Commissioner to India Peter Verghese, has been instrumental in trying to shift the focus towards the Indian markets. “The Indian govt is drafting return strategy for Australia,’’ she said.
India is also central to Australia’s vision of the Indo-Pacific and there has been an attempt by Australia to push India to take a more active role in the Quad. “I don’t see why India and Australia can’t be the closest partners in Asia. There are really no obstacles; where we do have issues or challenges, they are not insurmountable. We have very common outlook. As we are building partnership in the Indo-Pacific,’’ she said.
