Australian Defence Minister accorded guard of honour at Vigyan Bhawan
Sep 10, 2021
New Delhi [India], September 10 : Defence Minister of Australia, Peter Dutton was accorded the Guard of Honour at Vigyan Bhawan on Friday.
Australian Defence Minister and Foreign Minister Marise Payne are here in New Delhi on an official visit and are set to hold '2+2' ministerial dialogue tomorrow.
Earlier today, the Office of the Defence Minister had informed about a meeting between Rajnath Singh and Peter Dutton.
"Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh will hold a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Defence of Australia, Mr Peter Dutton at 3.30 PM today," said the Office of the Defence Minister of India on Twitter.
The Australian ministers are also scheduled to meet Union Minister Smriti Irani at the Shastri Bhawan here.
Australia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said in a statement that the ministers will be visiting India, Indonesia, South Korea and the United States.
This visit is aimed at advancing Australia's relationship with their close friends and strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific region, the statement had said.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the inaugural 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is being held pursuant to the elevation of India-Australia bilateral relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-Australia Leaders' Virtual Summit on 4 June 2020. The agenda for the Dialogue will cover a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
