Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will pay a two-day visit to India beginning Sunday to attend the second edition of the “2+2” ministerial dialogue between the two countries.
Announcing Marles’s visit, the defence ministry said he would also attend the Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The defence ministry made the announcement on Saturday about the visit of Marles to India. He is also serving as the Australian defence minister.
The ministry said Singh and Marles would hold a bilateral meeting on November 20 that would be followed by the “2+2” dialogue. It said the “2+2” dialogue would be co-chaired by Singh and Jaishankar, along with their Australian counterparts. “India and Australia are pursuing a comprehensive strategic partnership and the visit of Minister Marles is expected to give further impetus to the collaboration as well as bilateral defence cooperation,” the defence ministry said.
“The two countries are expected to discuss wide-ranging issues of mutual interest during the 2+2 dialogue and the bilateral defence ministers’ meeting,” it added.
