Australia-India agree Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in virtual summit

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘met’ earlier today at an on-line virtual summit, which PM Modi described as “an outstanding discussion, covering the entire expanse of our relationship”.

FILE PHOTO (April 2019): A Royal Australian Navy sailor is lowered to the casing of HMAS Collins from an MRH-90 helicopter in the Bay of Bengal during AUSINDEX 2019. Photo by Leading Seaman Jake Badior.

Two landmark ‘Defence Arrangements’ between Australia and India were established as part of a new, more robust ‘Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’.

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said the Australia-India Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and the Defence Science and Technology Implementing Arrangement would provide a framework to deepen defence cooperation between the two countries.

“India is a significant security partner for Australia,” Minister Reynolds said.

“We have a strong shared interest in working together to support a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

Minister Reynolds said the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement would enhance military interoperability, enabling increasingly complex military engagement and greater combined responsiveness to regional humanitarian disasters.

“This arrangement paves the way for greater cross-service military activity, building on the success of our most complex exercise to date, AUSINDEX 2019, which focused on anti-submarine warfare.

“The Science and Technology Implementing Arrangement will facilitate improved collaboration between our defence science and technology research organisations, both of whom have made important contributions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We now have a solid framework for Indian and Australian defence organisations to enhance our research collaboration and develop defence capabilities that help maintain our technological edge in this era of rapid change and increasing threats.

“These arrangements reflect India and Australia’s strong commitment to practical global cooperation.”

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