Mumbai, Mar 9 (IANS): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday that the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between India and Australia is a transformative agreement, which will unlock the next level of potential in trade and investment.

Addressing the India-Australia CEO forum here, Albanese said the business delegation accompanying him is one of the most serious and high-profile delegations to visit India from Australian shores.

He also said that it is a turning point in accelerating economic co-operation and mutual benefits in the relationship between the two countries.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who was present at the event, said that the current goal of doubling bilateral trade must be reset by the industries and CEOs present, as there is great potential to increase trade manifold between the two nations.

He reiterated the growth potential of bilateral trade and investments between India and Australia.

Goyal, while recalling his previous visit to Australia in April last year, recounted his interaction with the CEO of Cochlear, Australian hearing implant manufacturers. After the interaction, he had reassured Goyal that their current market share in India was only a minuscule of the potential for the business, given India's population, rapid growth in middle class and the growing demands of the overall economy for a better lifestyle.

The forum was organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in order to leverage the ever-growing trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.