Sushma meets counterparts from China, Australia

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Saturday held seven bilateral meetings, including with her Chinese counterpart, on the sidelines of the 12th ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers Meeting here.

Sushma Swaraj held meetings with her counterparts from Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, said external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, it was her second meeting as they had met when he had come to India.

"They reviewed the movement on bilateral relations since that visit. They were also looking forward to other meetings that are likely to happen in the not too distant future.

"The external affairs minister is proposing to go to China for a trilateral meeting as well as a bilateral event there. India's president (Pranab Mukherjee) and prime minister (Modi) have invited the Chinese president to visit India, and both the ministers felt that they should work towards substantive outcomes for that visit," Akbaruddin said.

Sushma Swaraj discussed with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop the likely visit of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to India next month.

Both ministers also discussed issues related to the civil nuclear agreement that India and Australia are working on, and felt they must expedite the process for an early outcome during one of the forthcoming high-level visits.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Australia for the G20 Summit later this year.

Sushma Swaraj will also be visiting Perth in October to attend the Indian Ocean Regional Association, Akbaruddin said.

The minister also met her Canadian counterpart John Baird, inviting him to visit India for their annual dialogue, which he gladly accepted. The meeting is likely to be held in October, the spokesperson said.

The two also discussed possible cooperation in energy, agriculture, security matters and counter-terrorism. There was also talks relating to visas, especially for Indian professionals going to Canada and matters relating to the diaspora.

With Brunei, the discussions catered around possible cooperation in the petroleum sector, especially LNG exports from Brunei to India.