Manmohan meets Japanese, Australian premiers

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday met Japanese and Australian premiers in the Brunei capital to review bilateral relations and agreed that they be elevated to higher levels, officials said.

During the meeting with Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe, Manmohan Singh appreciated Japanese investments in India, especially in the infrastructure projects like the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Freight Corridor and the progress since the 2011 Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between the two countries.

According to officials, Abe raised the issue of defence and security cooperation, and called for their consolidation and further progress.

Abe is scheduled to visit India next year, following the trip of Japanese Emperor and Empress to the country this month.

The prime minister also met the new Australian premier, Tony Abbott.

During the meeting, according to officials, both sides discussed a nuclear trade deal concerning uranium sale to India and fast-tracking a CECA.

India and Australia are strategic partners, and the two leaders discussed promoting the strategic engagement between their countries. Abbott proposed that the Indian defence minister should visit Australia during the joint naval exercises in 2015.

Abbott, who earlier spent three months in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand and Daltonganj in Bihar, said that he would like more Australian students to visit India to know and understand the country better.

(Saroj Mohanty can be contacted at saroj.m@ians.in)