India and Australia are set to hold a ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue with each other, for which Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne will arrive in India on Friday. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton will visit India from September 10 to 12, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
Both ministers will hold a ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. The ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue, people familiar with diplomatic parlays said, will focus on cooperation in areas of maritime security. The ministerial dialogue on September 11 will also cover a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. The two sides are expected to focus extensively on further ramping up the overall defence and security ties and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The ministers will discuss issues including economic security, cyber, climate, critical technology and supply chains. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation at the talks. The relationship between India and Australia is at a historic high and it is expected that this visit will attempt to advance Australia’s relationship with their close friends and strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific region, the statement said.
2+2 meetings of Foreign and Defence Ministers will be conducted with all four countries across the Indo-Pacific region. This joint visit will strongly reinforce Australia’s active engagement in the region. India and Australia are part of the strategic Quadrilateral Security Dialogue group, or the Quad, as it is colloquially called, along with the United States and Japan.
