Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton held all-inclusive talks to boost bilateral strategic ties. The meeting took place a day ahead of the inaugural ‘two-plus-two’ dialogue between foreign and defence ministers of India and Australia.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Peter Dutton arrived here on Friday for the ‘2+2’ meeting during which both sides are expected to discuss further strengthening bilateral defence and strategic relations besides exchanging views on Afghanistan’s situation.
The two sides are even expected to discuss ways to improve cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, sources said.
The talks between the foreign and defence ministers were instituted as part of an overall goal to expand strategic cooperation between India and Australia.
Both the countries are part of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition that aimed to work towards ensuring a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The other two members of Quad are the United States and Japan.
