PM Modi to hold virtual summit with Australian counterpart Morrison on Monday
New Delhi, Mar 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold a virtual summit on Monday during which they are expected to commit to closer bilateral ties in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education.
The announcement on the summit was made by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing on Thursday. The summit follows the historic first virtual summit of June 4, 2020 when the India-Australia relationship was elevated to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'.
As the summit is taking place in the midst of the crisis in Ukraine, it is expected to figure in the talks between the two prime ministers. "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," Bagchi said.
"The leaders are expected to commit to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education, among others," he said. Without making any specific references, the spokesperson said views on regional and international issues of mutual interest will also be discussed by the two leaders.
"The summit highlights the importance attached by both countries to their bilateral relations as also their close cooperation on regional and global issues," he said.
Bagchi
said
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.
He
said
both
sides
cooperated
in
wide-ranging
areas
including
science
and
technology,
defence,
cyber,
critical
and
strategic
materials
and
water
resource
management,
among
others.
Modi
and
Morrison
met
in
Washington
DC
in
September
last
year
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.
Ties between India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years. In June 2020, India and Australia signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support. The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation.
The Australian navy was part of the Malabar naval exercise hosted by India in November 2020 as well as last year. The navies of the US and Japan were also part of it. Australia was part of the Malabar exercise this year as well. PTI