PM Modi discusses 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' with Australian PM Scott Morrison

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual discussion with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison where both leaders discussed the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership's rapid progress, including the recent 2+2 Dialogue which took place in New Delhi. Both leaders also exchanged their views regarding regional developments as well as the upcoming Quad summit, according to a tweet by PM Modi.

The leaders of the two countries last spoke after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met online during a summit. India and Australia struck a historic agreement in June 2020, granting reciprocal access to military stations for logistical assistance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to attend the Quadrilateral Framework Leaders' Summit in Washington on September 24 alongside Australian Prime Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and US President Joe Biden. The leaders are expected to discuss regional problems of common interest during the meeting, as well as the progress made since their first virtual summit on March 12, according to ANI. PM Modi is also likely to meet one-on-one with Quad leaders, including US President Biden, and recent events in Afghanistan are expected to be discussed extensively. 

India-Australia held '2+2' Ministerial Dialogue

On Saturday, September 11, India and Australia held a '2+2' Ministerial Dialogue to improve ties and the Indo-Pacific region's defence and security systems. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Defence Minister Peter Dutton participated in the dialogue in New Delhi. During the conversation, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne stated that the '2+2' Ministerial Dialogue has enabled the countries to strengthen ties despite the Indo-Pacific region's instability.  

More about India-Australia ties

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India and Australia share certain commonalities that can be used to build tighter relations and multifaceted interactions, similar to what India has done with other Western countries. Both democracies are powerful, lively, secular, and multicultural. Since India's economic reforms in the 1990s, the partnership between both countries has risen in strength with rapid progress in all areas of trade, energy and mining, science and technology, information technology, education, and defence. India and Australia work together in a number of multilateral forums. Australia backs India's bid for a seat in the United Nations Security Council, the MEA stated. 

(With ANI inputs)

Image: PTI/AP