The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 10, 2021, held bilateral talks with the Defence Minister of Australia Peter Dutton to boost the overall bilateral ties between the two countries.
The talks between the two ministers took place before the inaugural ‘two-plus-two’ dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers of India and Australia.
The Foreign Minister of Australia Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton arrived in India on September 10 for the 2+2 dialogue. The two sides, during the ministerial meet, are expected to deliberate on further solidifying the bilateral defence and the strategic ties apart from exchanging views from Afghanistan.
Bilateral meeting between the Defence Ministers of India and Australia was held in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/0O7aL3Num0
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) September 10, 2021
Bilateral meet between Defence Ministers of India and Australia:
• At the beginning of the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that despite the testing times of COVID-19, Dutton’s visit to India is a testimony of the strong relationship between the two countries. He added that both India and Australia have a natural and comfortable relationship and they share democratic traditions.
• The Defence Minister of India acknowledged Australia’s support to India during the COVID pandemic and said that both countries have shared stakes in a cooperative, peaceful and prosperous Indo-pacific region.
• The discussion during the bilateral talks between India and Australia also focused on bilateral defence cooperation and expanding the military engagements across services, cooperation in emerging defence technology, mutual logistic support and enhancing defence information sharing.
India, Australia emphasizes UN resolution on Afghanistan:During the bilateral talks between the Defence Ministers of India and Australia, the Afghanistan situation was also discussed. The two ministers talked about the human rights situation and the violations against women, children and minorities in the war-torn country. Rajnath Singh and Peter Dutton noted that the international community must do everything to implement UN resolution 2953 in Afghanistan. The resolution by the United Nations stops the territory of one country from being used for spreading terrorism in another country. UN Resolution in Afghanistan: The UN Security Council adopted resolution 2953 in August 2021 after the Taliban takeover of Kabul. The resolution demanded that the Afghan territory must not be used to threaten or attack any nation and reiterated the significance of combating terrorism in the country. The UN resolution reaffirmed the importance of holding human rights, including those of children, women and minorities. It also encourages all the parties to seek an inclusive, negotiated political settlement, with equal, full and meaningful participation of women. |
India-Australia relations
• Both the countries are part of a Quad or Quadrilateral coalition that resolves to work for ensuring an open, free and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The other two members of the group are the US and Japan.
• The defence ministry cooperation between India and Australia has also been on an upswing in the last few years.
• In June 2020, both countries elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to the military bases for logistics support.
• The Australian Navy was also part of the recent Malabar Naval exercise that featured navies of the US, Japan and India.
2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between India and Australia
The inaugural 2+2 ministerial dialogue between India and Australia will be held on September 11, 2021. The Foreign Minister of Australia Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton will meet EAM S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The agenda for the inaugural dialogue will include regional, bilateral and global issues of mutual interest.
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