India, Australia hold 14th Navy Staff talks on maritime operations

The Indian and Australian navies concluded their three-day-long staff talks on Wednesday. The two countries discussed major issues including maritime operations and training.

The Indian Navy and the Australian Navy held 14th Navy Staff talks to take stock of maritime operations and training. The three-day talks were held in New Delhi from April 11 to 13.

Rear Admiral Christopher Smith, Deputy Chief, Royal Australian Navy, and Rear Admiral J Singh, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence, Indian Navy, co-chaired the talks.

"Major issues discussed included maritime operations, information exchange and training," the Indian Navy's statement noted.

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Both sides also acknowledged the growing cooperation between the two navies amid the emerging challenges on the maritime front, and agreed to enhance collaboration and interoperability towards ensuring maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, the statement mentioned.

Both India and Australia are part of security forum Quad. On April 2, India and Australia signed an economic cooperation and trade agreement under which Canberra would provide duty-free access in its market for over 95 per cent of Indian goods such as textiles, leather, jewellery and sports products.