Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday arrived in the national capital to participate in the second India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles had already arrived in India for the 2+2 dialogue. Both Australian leaders will co-chair the dialogue with their Indian counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
In an earlier statement, Marles had said that India is a “top-tier security partner” for Australia and “our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is one of practical, tangible actions that directly benefit the Indo-Pacific region”.
Wong stated that the India-Australia partnership is central to the stability and prosperity of our shared region. She emphasized Australia’s commitment to closer partnerships with India for the benefit of the region, including the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, in addition to deepening defence and security cooperation.
Further noting that this year has seen a number of firsts in the India-Australia defence relationship, including an Indian submarine visit to Perth and Australia’s hosting of Exercise Malabar, Marles highlighted that these developments show the growing closeness of defence and security partnerships between two countries, according to the Australian Foreign Ministry.
(Inputs from ANI)