2nd India-Australia virtual summit on Mar 21: What to expect

New Delhi, Mar 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will hold the second India-Australia virtual summit on 21st March.

Morrison said ways to deepen bilateral trade and investment ties and harness new economic opportunities to support mutual economic recovery and growth will also be discussed at the summit.

"We will also discuss a range of regional and multilateral issues, including the situation in Ukraine and its implications for the Indo-Pacific, and Myanmar," the Australian prime minister said in a statement.

Morrison said Australia and India's strong bilateral relationship is based on mutual understanding and trust and that both sides have a shared vision for the Indo-Pacific.

"Australia and India's strong bilateral relationship is based on mutual understanding and trust, a commitment to democracy, and a shared vision of an open, inclusive, resilient and prosperous Indo-Pacific," he said.

"We will discuss deepening our trade & investment relationship & harnessing new economic opportunities to support our mutual economic recovery and growth, said Australian PM.

"We will also discuss a range of regional and multilateral issues, including the situation in #Ukraine and its implications for the Indo-Pacific and Myanmar," he said.

The Summit follows the historic first Virtual Summit of 4 June 2020 when the relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

During the upcoming virtual summit, the Leaders will take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The virtual summit will lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhanced cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between India and Australia. The Leaders are expected to commit to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education, among others.

Views on regional and international issues of mutual interest will also be discussed by the Leaders. The Summit highlights the importance attached by both countries to their bilateral relations as also their close cooperation on regional and global issues.

The India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has maintained the momentum of an upward trajectory with both countries continuing to collaborate closely, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, in wide-ranging areas including science and technology, defence, cyber, critical and strategic materials, water resource management, as well as public administration and governance.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Morrison met in Washington DC for the first in-person meeting after the Covid-19 pandemic in September 2021 on the margins of the Quad Leaders' Summit and jointly launched the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) in Glasgow on the margins of the COP26 in November 2021.