India and Australia are set to further strengthen defence and security cooperation in information sharing, maritime domain, and joint activities, with three agreements expected to be signed during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's two-day official visit to the country beginning Thursday.
Singh's visit, at the invitation of Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, comes as the countries mark five years of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
A ministry of defence (MoD) release said the visit would include bilateral discussions with his Australian counterpart and a business roundtable in Sydney, which Singh will chair, with industry leaders from both sides in attendance.
Singh will also call on other senior Australian leaders, in what will be the first visit by a defence minister to Australia under the National Democratic Alliance-led government since 2014.
"The visit will provide an important opportunity for both sides to explore new and meaningful initiatives to further strengthen the bilateral relationship and the defence partnership," said the MoD, adding that the three agreements being planned to be signed during Singh's visit would further enhance cooperation in the areas of information sharing, maritime domain, and joint activities.
Defence engagements between the two countries have expanded over time to include wide-ranging interactions between the armed services, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity-building and training programmes, cooperation in the maritime domain, ship visits, and bilateral exercises.
India and Australia elevated their bilateral relationship from a Strategic Partnership in 2009 to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020.
Marles visited India in June and met Singh and also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In June, Singh and Marles had welcomed the signing of the Australia-India Joint Research Project and agreed to intensify and diversify defence industry collaboration.
-- Bhaswar Kumar, Business Standard