Rajnath Singh holds bilaterals with New Zealand, Australian counterpart, reviews defence cooperation

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilaterals with his New Zealand and Australian counterparts Ron Mark and Linda Reynolds respectively here on Sunday and reviewed New Delhi's defence cooperation with the two Pacific nations.

The meeting has come on the sidelines of the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Prior to that, the Defence Minister also held a bilateral with Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan and apprised him about the Centre's Act East policy and the centrality of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific policy. The two leaders discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to bilateral relations between India and Thailand.

Singh complimented Wongsuwan for the successful conduct of activities during the year as the chair of ADMM-Plus and ASEAN for 2019, the statement added.

The Defence Minister is in Bangkok to attend the two-day long ADMM-Plus summit. The visit would witness Singh inaugurating the India pavilion at the Defence and Security Exhibition in Bangkok, as well as addressing the business seminar and interact with the industry representatives.