NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2021) The foreign and defense minister of Australia and India have agreed to expand military engagement, as well as boost defense information sharing, during the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, Indian Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.
New Delhi is hosting on Saturday the inaugural India-Australia summit between the nations' foreign and defense ministers. The agenda includes bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
"On the bilateral defence cooperation we decided to expand military engagements across services, facilitate greater defence information sharing and to work closely for mutual logistic support," the minister said in a statement.
The sides also thoroughly discussed various institutional frameworks for wide-ranging collaboration, including defense cooperation and the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Singh said.
"We exchanged views on Afghanistan, Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific, cooperation in multilateral formats and other related topics. During the discussions both sides emphasised the need to ensure free flow of trade, adherence to international rules and norms and sustainable economic growth in the entire region," he added.
Additionally, India invited Australian partners to engage in its growing defense industry and cooperate on co-production and co-development of defense equipment, the minister said.
The sides agreed to further maintain high-level engagements "to build a strong and robust partnership."
