India and Australia have tremendous stakes in Indo-Pacific region: Rajnath Singh
India and Australia on Friday held a bilateral defence meeting in Delhi and reiterated for free, open, inclusive and rule-based Indo-Pacific region amidst Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
FollowIndia and Australia on Friday held a bilateral defence meeting in Delhi and reiterated for free, open, inclusive and rule-based Indo-Pacific region amidst Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton, who is in Delhi on a two-day visit to participate in the first-ever India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, discussed the bilateral issues along with regional issues.
After the meeting, Rajnath Singh informed the media persons that he had had a very fruitful and wide-ranging discussion with Minister Dutton on the bilateral defence cooperation as well as regional issues.
The Defence Minister said that both countries look forward to jointly realise the full potential of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Asserting that the partnership was based on a shared vision of a free, inclusive and rule-based Indo-Pacific region, Rajnath said that India and Australia have tremendous stakes in peace, economic growth, free flow of trade and a rules-based order in the region.
Highlighting Friday's meetings, the minister said that the discussions were focused on the bilateral defence ties and expanding military engagements across Services, enhancing defence information sharing, cooperation in emerging defence technologies and mutual logistics support.
He, further, invited Australian industry and asked them to take advantage of India's liberalised foreign direct investment policies in the defence sector.
Both sides were of the view that there were opportunities for bilateral collaboration in co-development and coproduction. Prospects of cooperation in defence, technology and science were also discussed.
Further, Rajnath said that New Delhi wanted to build a strong partnership with Australia to facilitate growth and security in the entire region.
During their discussions, the two leaders also held deliberations on "Atmanirbhar Bharat" and the growing innovation ecosystem in India.
In recent years, the two countries have enhanced their defence and military ties.
In 2020, they have upgraded their cooperation to a comprehensive strategic partnership and had also inked a historic pact for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support during an online summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
