New Delhi: India's foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Monday said that Ukraine and China issues were discussed during the 2nd India-Australia virtual summit held in New Delhi.
Addressing a special briefing here after the summit, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla said, "On the Ukraine issue, it was clear that the two sides had referred to the Quad summit in which the leaders had a fairly clear perspective that the situation in Ukraine should not have an impact on the Indo-Pacific"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Australian counterpart Scott Morisson virtually addressed the summit. During the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart committed to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education, among others. "In reiteration for a commitment to a progressive Indo Pacific region, both leaders discussed calibrating and cooperating on support to pacific island countries for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," the foreign secretary told reporters after the summit.
Both leaders also discussed serious concerns about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian situation in Ukraine and there was equal emphasis on the fact that international orders stand on the UN Charter on the rule of law and respect for the territorial integrity & sovereignty of States. In his opening remarks, Australian PM Scott Morrisson said that Russia needs to be held accountable for the tragic loss of lives in Ukraine following its "terrible" invasion of that country.
Speaking about the discussion that took place on China during the summit, the Foreign Secretary said that PM Morrison also gave a fairly detailed perspective of how he saw China and its actions in the region and he spoke in particular about the South China Sea. Meanwhile, PM Modi referred to LAC in Ladakh, the incidents of the previous year and he emphasized that peace and tranquillity in the border area was an essential prerequisite for normalization of relations with China.
It is pertinent to note that during the summit, a Letter of Intent was signed between India & Australia to work towards concluding the migration and mobility partnership agreement on facilitating migration & mobility between the two countries. It's something that the two PMs said would be an area of great interest, Shringla pointed out.
The summit was a very fruitful, constructive, and warm exchange of views. The virtual summit reflects the close ties that exist between India and Australia, and the shared vision of both PMs to advance this bilateral partnership. However, the summit also witnessed the announcement of a Rs 1500 crore investment package across various sectors in India by Australian PM Scot Morrison. The package is the largest ever Australian government investment in India.
Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Morrison met in Washington DC for the first in-person meeting after the Covid-19 pandemic in September 2021 on the margins of the Quad Leaders’ Summit and jointly launched the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) in Glasgow on the margins of the COP26 in November 2021.
