Regional developments, trade, defence and clean energy figure in Modi-Morrison bilateral
Washington, Sep 23 (Bureau) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held a bilateral meeting here on Thursday during which regional and global developments as well as ongoing bilateral cooperation in areas related to Covid-19, trade, defence and clean energy were discussed. “Another chapter in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia! PM @narendramodi and @ScottMorrisonMP met today,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on the meeting. “Discussed regional and global developments as well as ongoing bilateral cooperation in areas related to Covid-19, trade, defence, clean energy and more,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s Office in a tweet posted: “Advancing friendship with Australia. PM @ScottMorrisonMP held talks with PM @narendramodi. They discussed a wide range of subjects aimed at deepening economic and people-to-people linkages between India and Australia.” The meeting between the two PMs is their first in-person meeting in the post-pandemic period and comes ahead of tomorrow’s first in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by US President Joe Biden at the White House. It also comes days after the Foreign and Defence Ministers of the two countries met in India for the inaugural India-Australia 2+2 meeting. The developments in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific are likely to have figured in the discussions, as well as taking forward the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership instituted between both countries last year.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval were also present during the bilateral. Prime Minister Morrison had called up Prime Minister Modi ahead of the announcement of the tripartite security partnership announced between Australia, the US and the UK. The two leaders had participated in a virtual summit in June 2020 when the India-Australia relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Ahead of Thursday’s bilateral meeting, Mr Jaishankar held a meeting with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne in New York on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.