Afghanistan among key issues discussed in first India-Australia 2+2 ministerial dialogue

As the defence and foreign ministers of India and Australia met for the first '2+2' high-level ministerial dialogue between both countries, the situation in Afghanistan was a major talking point.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that Afghanistan was “a major subject of discussion”, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about “peace and prosperity of the entire region” at the inaugural '2+2' high-level foreign and defence ministerial dialogue between India and Australia. A productive 2+2 meeting today with Australia. pic.twitter.com/wVorRj4rks We have discussed various institutional frameworks for wide ranging collaboration including defence cooperation and fight against global pandemic.We exchanged views on Afghanistan, Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific, cooperation in multilateral formats & other related topics. The Indian foreign and defence ministers met their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton in New Delhi on Saturday. The in-person talks took place at a time when the global focus has been on the developments in Afghanistan. Naturally, they were among the most important talking points in the meeting.