India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue: India and Australia discussed the ‘extraordinary challenges’ in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world, with a special focus on defense cooperation. Decided on Monday (November 20) to further strengthen our strategic partnership to deal with.
The second ‘two plus two’ between India and Australia; In the ministerial talks, both countries also underlined the importance of enhancing cooperation and exchange of information and awareness in the maritime domain.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced the second India-Australia ‘Two Plus Two’ Met Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong in New Delhi as part of the ministerial dialogue.
India-Australia bilateral relations strengthened rapidly – S Jaishankar
Foreign Minister Jaishankar, in his opening remarks, said that bilateral relations between India and Australia have strengthened rapidly in the last one year at a time when uncertainty is increasing in the world. He said, ‘‘We are seeing increasing polarization, deepening tensions and today it is important to ensure that regular steps are taken to make people feel safe in the region. So we have to work for sustainability on a daily basis.’’
Australia’s Deputy PM Richard Marles said this
Marles said China is the largest trading partner for both India and Australia and the ‘biggest security concern’ is also. He underlined the need for both countries to work together.
He stressed the importance of cooperation on maritime awareness, saying, ‘‘We share an ocean and in that sense we are neighbors and there has never been a more important time for our two countries to work together .’’
Jaishankar said India and Australia face ‘extraordinary challenges’ We have to face these challenges and it is important for both the countries to plan to deal with them. He said that these could be man-made challenges, ‘‘these could be HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) situations. In such a situation, it is important that we have a culture of cooperation to face them.’’
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said this on the partnership between India and Australia
Rajnath Singh said that the partnership between India and Australia will not only be good for both the countries, but also for the overall security of the Indo-Pacific. He emphasized that the defense sector in particular has emerged as one of the most important pillars of the India-Australia strategic partnership.
Singh said, ‘‘Whenever our Prime Ministers have met at the highest level, be it summit level talks or multilateral forums like Quad (Quaternary Security Dialogue) and G-20, our bilateral relations have been further strengthened. The commitment to do so has been confirmed.’’
Earlier in the bilateral meeting with Marles, Singh said that a strong bilateral defense partnership will not only be good for both the countries, but also for the overall security of the Indo-Pacific.
Indian Defense Ministry issued this statement
According to a statement issued by the Indian Defense Ministry, the two ministers agreed that deepening cooperation in defense industry and research will boost the already strong relations. Singh suggested that shipbuilding, repair and maintenance and aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) could be possible areas of cooperation.
The statement said that the leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen defense relations between the two countries. Singh participated in the multilateral exercise ‘Malabar’ on behalf of Australia in August this year; Congratulated Marls for organizing the first and successful event.
Bilateral defense relations will become stronger
The ministry said, “Both ministers reiterated their commitment to further strengthen bilateral defense relations. He expressed satisfaction at the growing cooperation in the military field between the two countries, including joint exercises, exchanges and institutional interactions in the defense sector.”
Officials said both sides are conducting ‘hydrography’ Talks have reached the advanced stage of cooperation and implementation arrangements for cooperation in the field of air-to-air refueling. Singh also stressed that the armies of both the countries should also focus on cooperation in ‘training areas like artificial intelligence, anti-submarine and anti-drone warfare and cyber’.
It said, “Cooperation in joint research in underwater technologies was also discussed between the two ministers. Collaboration in defense startups including jointly solving the challenges between the two countries were also discussed between the ministers.” The statement said, “Both ministers believed that a stronger India-Australia defense partnership would be good not only for their mutual benefits, but also for the entire Indo-Pacific region.”
Australia and India are both members of the ‘Quad’ The alliance is focused on working towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The other two members of the Quad are America and Japan.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said this
Social media platform ‘X’ In a post on External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “The Minister is multi-faceted including defense and security, trade and investment, critical minerals, energy, climate change, science and technology, space, education and people-to-people relations. title="India-Australia" href="https://www.abplive.com/topic/ind-vs-aus" data-type="interlinkingkeywords">India-Australia will exchange views on deepening relations. Regional and global issues are also on the agenda.”
Ahead of the meeting, Wong and Marles visited the National War Memorial to pay respect to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives. Wong wrote ‘X’ But said, “Military relations between India and Australia have a long history – Australian soldiers fought alongside Indian soldiers in several campaigns, including Gallipoli.”