India, Australia to hold 2+2 talks in Capital on Monday

India and Australia will hold their second 2+2 dialogue of defence and foreign ministers on November 20 to advance cooperation on shared regional interests in areas ranging from defence to technology and to deepen trade and investment ties.

- Rezaul H Laskar

Defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar will meet their Australian counteracts Richard Marles and Penny Wong in New Delhi for the dialogue, which was elevated to the ministerial level in September 2021.

The ministers are expected to discuss a range of strategic, defence and security issues, including bilateral, regional and global matters, to advance cooperation under the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

They will also exchange views on shared priorities for strengthening minilateral and multilateral cooperation.

A readout from the Australian side said the ministers will take forward cooperation on shared regional interests, including in defence, security, renewable energy and technology. They will also discuss deepening trade and investment ties, it said.

India and Australia are currently engaged in advanced negotiations for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) that will build on the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed in April 2022.