Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong as part of the second India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
India and Australia Monday held 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue to step up defence cooperation and deepen the strategic relationship in sectors such as critical minerals and trade and investment.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong as part of the second India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
In a post on X, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “Ministers will exchange views on deepening multifaceted India-Australia ties, including in areas of defence and security, trade & investment, critical minerals, energy, climate change, S&T, space, education and people to people linkages. Regional and global issues are also on agenda.”
Ahead of the meeting, Wong and Marles visited the National War Memorial to pay respects to those who sacrificed their lives.
“India and Australia have a long history of military relations – Australian soldiers have fought alongside Indian troops in a number of campaigns, including at Gallipoli,” Wong said on X.
Calling the partnership with India “consequential” for Australia, Wong said Canberra deeply values its bilateral relationship with New Delhi, adding that it is “crucial to the region” where sovereignty is respected.
In her opening remarks at the India-Australia 2+2 Defence and Foreign Ministerial Dialogue, she said, “We’ve done a lot of work together bilaterally and we hope to do more again today. I think what I would emphasize is that we value deeply the bilateral relationship, economic ties, the two way trade and investment, the people to people links, the climate initiatives particularly… that we’re working on together.
But to again underline what we all know… this is a partnership which is consequential for us but it is crucial for our region and we see you India as central, crucial to the sort of region we continue to work for peaceful, stable, prosperous where sovereignty is respected and we look forward in this discussion to going further on the ways in which we can both work to deliver that.”
Jaishankar discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and other issues with Marles. “A very good meeting with DPM and Defence Minister @RichardMarlesMP of Australia. Spoke about recent developments that influence the Indo-Pacific strategic scenario. Also exchanged views on West Asia,” he posted on X. “And yes, we discussed yesterday’s match. Congratulations Australia!” he added.
Source: The Indian Express
