India and Australia hold 11th Air Staff talks to boost defence ties

India and Australia conducted the 11th edition of the Indian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force Air Staff Talks from November 19 to November 20 in New Delhi.

The details of the meeting were shared on X by the Indian Air Force.

"In a step towards enhancing defence cooperation with Australia, the #IAF conducted the 11th edition of Indian Air Force-Royal Australian Air Force Air Staff Talks (AST) from 19 Nov 24 to 20 Nov 24 at New Delhi".

It was noted, "The visit by the RAAF delegation was led by Deputy Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force and the talks highlighted the close ties between the two countries and close cooperation between the two services".

In recent times, India and Australia have seen close cooperation in the defence sector.

Recently, the two countries concluded the third edition of the India-Australia joint military exercise, 'AustraHind' on Thursday at the Foreign Training Node in Maharashtra's Pune.

The two-week training program, designed to enhance cooperation and interoperability between the armed forces of the two nations, was held from November 8 to 21.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh too held a meeting with Minister for Defence Industry & Capability Delivery of Australia Pat Conroy, during the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Laos.

Rajnath Singh recalled that India-Australia partnership is grounded in shared interests, especially stability and security in the Indian Ocean region.

PM Modi too had met his Australian counterpart recently on the sdelines of the G20 summit which recently concluded in Brazil.

During his meeting with Australian PM Anthony Albanese, PM Modi had reiterated India's commitment to strengthening cooperation through the Quad.

"The Prime Ministers reiterated their commitment to strengthening cooperation through the Quad as a force for global good, delivering real, positive, and enduring impacts for the Indo-Pacific", the joint statement issued by them had noted.