Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral talks with his Australian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles on Wednesday. During the meeting, the two ministers will review the defence cooperation between the two countries and explore new initiatives to further strengthen bilateral engagements. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. Richards reached Goa on Monday on his first leg of his four-day visit to India, where he visited Goa Shipyard Limited and INS Hansa on Tuesday. India and Australia share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since June 2020 and defence is a key pillar of this partnership, the ministry said, and added that "the partnership is based on a shared vision of free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. The two democracies have a common interest in peace and prosperity of the entire region." Australia and India, along with the US and Japan, are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, which advocates for a free and open Indo-Pacific. The four nations are also participants in the Malabar Naval Exercise.
