New Delhi: Minister of External Affairs, Dr S. Jaishankar, will be paying an official visit to Australia during February 10-13 at the invitation of his Australian counterpart Marise Payne. This will be his first visit as External Affairs Minister to Australia. It would be the first high-level visit to Australia from India after the opening of its borders which were closed following the pandemic.
EAM will participate in the 4th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on February 11 in Melbourne, along with the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States. It will be an opportunity for the Ministers to follow up on their virtual meeting held in February 2021 and exchange views on regional strategic issues given their shared vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
The Ministers will review ongoing Quad cooperation and build on the positive and constructive agenda announced by the Leaders at the two Summits in 2021, to address contemporary challenges such as the COVID pandemic, supply chains, critical technologies, climate change, infrastructure etc.
Jaishankar and the Australian Foreign Minister will co-chair the 12th Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue on February 12. The Ministers will review the progress of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discuss bilateral, multilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.
On the same day, EAM will co-chair the inaugural Foreign Ministers’ Cyber Framework Dialogue (FMCFD) with Australian Foreign Minister Ms Marise Payne.
READ: EAM Jaishankar to visit Australia to participate in Quad FMs meeting
The Ministers will assess the progress made towards implementation of the India-Australia Framework Arrangement on Cyber and Cyber-Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation and the subsidiary Plan of Action which they signed in June 2020 on the sidelines of the Virtual Leaders’ Summit held between Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Meetings for EAM are also scheduled with Australian political leaders, academics and businesses, as well as the Indian diaspora and students.
India's foreign minister would also be on a bilateral visit to the Philippines from February 13-15. This will be his first visit to the Philippines as External Affairs Minister.
EAM will hold talks with his counterpart, Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines. The Ministers will review developments in bilateral relations since the meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation that they co-chaired in the virtual format in November 2020. Regional and international issues of mutual interest would also be discussed.
In addition to other meetings with the political leadership in the Philippines, EAM would interact with the Indian community in Manila during his visit. The visit is expected to impart further momentum to bilateral relations with our key partners in the Indo-Pacific, Australia, and the Philippines, which is also a leading member of ASEAN.
