India, France, and Australia held the first trilateral dialogue meeting on Wednesday via teleconference, the Indian External Affairs Ministry announced
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th September, 2020) India, France, and Australia held the first trilateral dialogue meeting on Wednesday via teleconference, the Indian External Affairs Ministry announced.
"The first India-France-Australia Trilateral Dialogue was held virtually on 9 September 2020. The meeting was co-chaired by Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary of India, Mr. Francois Delattre, Secretary-General, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Ms. Frances Adamson, Secretary, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The focus of the dialogue was on enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region," the ministry said in a statement.
The sides touched upon economic and geostrategic challenges and cooperation in the region, as well as domestic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The outcome oriented meeting was held with the objective of building on the strong bilateral relations that the three countries share with each other and synergising their respective strengths to ensure a peaceful, secure, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific Region. The three sides agreed to hold the dialogue on an annual basis," the ministry concluded.
New Delhi has been stepping up its engagement in the region in part to counter the increased presence of Beijing, especially in light of their border tension in the Ladakh region.
