India and Australia on Monday reviewed the entire spectrum of their growing ties during telephonic talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Anthony Albanese.
A statement by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke with the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Anthony Albanese. Both leaders took stock of progress in the bilateral relations and cooperation in the multilateral fora, including the Quad.
The Prime Minister posted on social media “Delighted to speak to my friend Anthony Albanese. We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations and cooperation in the multilateral fora, including the Quad.” The talks also came in the backdrop of growing Chinese assertiveness in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region. In November 2017, India, Japan, the US, and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.
India is likely to host the Quad summit this year wherein heads of states of the four countries may discuss the future course of Quad combine. The 2023 summit was held in Hiroshima, Japan.
China has all along criticized the Quad claiming it will lead to the militarization of the Indo-Pacific.
