Australian defence minister arrives in India to boost security ties

Minister of Defence for Australia, Mr. Richard Marles, landed in India on 20 June, 2022 for a bilateral meeting with Mr. Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence, to deepen bilateral defence and security cooperation between the two countries. During his three day visit from 20-23 June, Mr. Marles will meet Dr. S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, and engage with national security and defence policymakers and personnel.

His visit is the first by an Australian high-ranking official since newly-elected Prime Minister Mr. Anthony Albanese assumed office on May 23.

Mr. Singh has been essential in strengthening India-Australia defence cooperation, according to Mr. Marles, and he looks forward to working with him to further the defence pillar of the two nations' Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Mr. Marles also stated that India is one of Australia's closest security partners, and that the government is working to revitalise Australia's long-standing deep engagement with its Indo-Pacific partners.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.