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India and Australia discussed strengthening their relationship in bilateral trade, vaccines, defence production, community links, maritime security, cyber and climate cooperation in the first 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the Foreign and Defence Ministers in New Delhi on Saturday.
“We said that India’s liberalised FDI policy regime should be benefitted from.... and invited Australian industry for partnership in the area of defence. We want to take this cooperation to new heights,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at a joint press conference following the meeting on Friday.
The two sides discussed ways to intensify cooperation through greater military engagements, better information sharing, emerging defence tech cooperation and mutual logistic support, Singh said, giving an account of his discussion with his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton. Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne also participated in the talks.
“We talked today about many things including the strong and enduring relationships in trade, community links, in cyber and climate and community links...The future of Afghanistan remains a central concern to both our countries, said Payne in her statement to the media.
As the four Ministers came together for the first time, discussions on the two countries experiences and further collaboration in responding to the Covid-19 challenges also took place. “Decentralised globalisation, strategic autonomy, sharper sense of national security are some of the relevant outcomes. We also underlined our commitments to creating secure and resilient global supply chains,” said Jaishankar.
The renewed vigour with which both sides are now engaging on trade issues to fully expedite the complementarities was welcomed, he added.
India and Australia are working on an early harvest trade pact to liberalise trade in select goods that will lay down the path for a full-fledged comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA).
The Australian Ministers are on a four-nation visit covering India, South Korea, Indonesia and the US.
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