India-Australia: The first-ever 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between India and Australia is underway today on September 11, 2021, in New Delhi to strengthen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the Indo-Pacific region. India’s Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton are present in the meeting.
The Afghanistan crisis will be on the top of the agenda of the India-Australia 2+2 dialogue among other matters relating to economic security, climate, cyber, supply chains, critical technology, and exploring new areas in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and unmanned vehicles. The ministers will also discuss other important matters relating to security such as the role of China in the Afghanistan region and also the situation in the East and South China seas.
Developments in Afghanistan will be an important subject of discussion today. This meeting is an opportunity to review & take forward the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership as we prepare for another meeting b/w our Prime Ministers later this month in the US: EAM S Jaishankar pic.twitter.com/PBfv8Okg2z
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2021
“These inaugural 2+2 discussions are a cornerstone of the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is founded on a shared commitment to a secure, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” said Australia’s Foreign Minister before she embarked on the four-country tour.
Both the ministers of Australia are on a four-country tour as they visit India, Indonesia, South Korea, and the United States for Indo-Pacific Consultations.
The Foreign Minister and Defence Minister of Australia will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence at around 4.30 pm.
India a key market for emerging technologies: Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne at ORFDuring an event on September 10 at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a global think tank based in Delhi, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne highlighted that India and Australia have made a substantial level of progress in the first year of partnership. They should now reflect on common ground that makes the basis of bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, she added. Payne further said that India is on the trajectory of the global manufacturing hub. India has become a key market for emerging technologies. Australia will contribute 10 million dollars towards the disaster-resilient infrastructure initiative of India. In regard to education, Payne said that though the pandemic has disrupted key areas such as education, Australia is working hard to bring the Indian students back. |
Indian Defence Minister, Australian Defence Minister hold bilateral talks
The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the Defence Minister of Australia Peter Dutton held bilateral talks on September 10, 2021, with an aim to boost the bilateral relationship between both countries. The bilateral talks were held a day before the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the Foreign and Defence minister of Australia and India.
Both the Defence Ministers during the bilateral talks discussed expanding bilateral defence cooperation, military engagements across services, increasing mutual logistic support, cooperation in emerging defence technology, and enhancing defence information sharing.
India-Australia Ties
The bilateral relationship between India and Australia is at a historic high. Both countries have increased interoperability in the maritime domain in the past few months. They have signed a ‘Joint Guidance for Navy to Navy Relationship Document’.
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), ASEAN, Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) are a few of the highlights of the Document. As part of joint maritime efforts, Australia has also deployed a Liaison Officer at the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) of the Indian Navy.
The Joint Navy to Navy Document aligns with the ‘2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ that has been agreed by Prime Ministers of India and Australia. India and Australia have also signed Mutual Logistics Support Agreement to expand bilateral defence relations.
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