Penny Wong meets Jaishankar, says India-Australia must ‘navigate together’ on Indo-Pacific matters
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed a press conference along with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong after both ministers held the 13th India-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue (FMFD). Jaishankar divulged the details saying that both held discussions on the ongoing war in Ukraine and its repercussions on the Indo-Pacific region.
In a joint press conference, Jaishankar said, “We discussed Ukraine and its repercussions in the Indo-Pacific region, the progress in QUAD, G-20 issues, our trilateral, some things related to IAEA and climate finance sustainable development goals.”
Jaishankar said, “We spoke about a whole lot of issues — trade, economy, education, defence and security, clean energy, and among the many agreements and understandings we reached. It is in our mutual interest to expand the diplomatic footprint in each other’s country.”
Meanwhile, Penny Wong said, “India and Australia are comprehensive strategic partners. We are QUAD partners. We partner in many other ways.” She said both India and Australia “don’t want to see any country dominating and any country being dominated.”
Underlining the importance of partnership with India, Wong said, “For Australia, this partnership (India), is a critical part of shaping the region we want. We are looking to open a consulate general in Bengaluru, in the heart of India’s technology industry sometime next year,” she announced.
As the chair of G-20 next year, Australia’s views and interests will be very important, he said. He expressed gratitude to Australia for joining India in celebrating the 75th anniversary of India’s independence by decorating Australia’s iconic sites.
It is EAM’s second visit to Australia this year, the first was in February 2022 to attend the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Melbourne. The External Affairs Minister will also be meeting the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles.
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