Washington, Sep 22 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have reiterated their commitment to strengthen cooperation in multilateral forums during a meeting held on the sidelines of the 6th Quad Leaders Summit.
The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas such as political and strategic, defence and security, trade and investment, education and research, climate change and renewable energy and people-to-people ties, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.
“Had a wide-ranging discussion with PM Anthony Albanese. We are focused on further enhancing cooperation in areas such as trade, security, space and culture. India greatly values the time-tested friendship with Australia,” PM Modi wrote on social media platform X after the meeting.
The Prime Ministers of the two countries also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. They acknowledged that the frequency of high-level contacts has given a strong momentum to bilateral relations. This was their ninth in-person conversation since May 2022.
The two leaders reiterated their commitment to take the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), established in 2020, to even greater heights.
The ‘CSP’ is based on mutual understanding, trust, common interests and shared values of democracy and rule of law. Both countries share a vision of an open, free, rules-based Indo-Pacific region, supported by inclusive global and regional institutions that promote prosperous, stable and sovereign states based on shared interests.
Before meeting the Australian Prime Minister, PM Modi met Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and reviewed various aspects of India-Japan relations. They also exchanged views on strengthening defence and security ties and business-to-business and people-to-people cooperation.
–IANS
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