PM Modi to hold virtual summit with Australian counterpart on Monday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold a virtual summit on Monday during which they are expected to commit to closer bilateral ties in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education.

The announcement on the summit was made by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing on Thursday.

The summit follows the historic first virtual summit of June 4, 2020 when the India-Australia relationship was elevated to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'.

As the summit is taking place in the midst of the crisis in Ukraine, it is expected to figure in the talks between the two prime ministers.

"The leaders will take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The virtual summit will lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhanced cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between India and Australia," Bagchi said.

"The leaders are expected to commit to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education, among others," he said.

Without making any specific references, the spokesperson said views on regional and international issues of mutual interest will also be discussed by the two leaders.

"The summit highlights the importance attached by both countries to their bilateral relations as also their close cooperation on regional and global issues," he said.

Bagchi said the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has maintained the momentum of an upward trajectory with both countries continuing to collaborate closely despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said both sides cooperated in wide-ranging areas including science and technology, defence, cyber, critical and strategic materials and water resource management, among others.

Modi and Morrison met in Washington DC in September last year on the margins of the Quad Leaders' Summit and jointly launched the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) in Glasgow on the margins of the COP26 in November.

Ties between India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years.

In June 2020, India and Australia signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support.

The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation.

The Australian navy was part of the Malabar naval exercise hosted by India in November 2020 as well as last year.

The navies of the US and Japan were also part of it. Australia was part of the Malabar exercise this year as well.