Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton from the Australian side met with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 11-09-2021.

• S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh welcomed their Australian counterparts FM Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton for the India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
• Meet was aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and strategic cooperation including in the Indo-Pacific amid China’s increasing military assertiveness in the region.
• In their talks, the two defence ministers discussed the fragile security situation in Afghanistan and their “common concerns" relating to the possible spread of terrorism from the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
• Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne yesterday said that two countries are working towards an interim trade agreement to be followed by a comprehensive economic pact to boost trade ties.