‘Lot Of Scope In Defence, Security Cooperation That Can Be Taken Forward In The Quad Context’

NEW DELHI: On ‘Talking Point’, Ambassador Anil Wadhwa, Former Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs and Author of the CII Australia Economic Strategy Report in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.

India and Australia hold the inaugural 2+2 Ministerial meeting in Delhi between Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Minister of Defence Peter Dutton and their counterparts Dr S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh. A Quad Heads of Government Summit is also expected this month in the U.S.

Ambassador Wadhwa discusses India and Australia’s bilateral and multilateral defence and security cooperation, the Quad in the face of China’s aggressive behaviour, and the low-hanging fruit of a limited or ‘early harvest’ economic and trade agreement that the countries are working towards that could be followed by a full-fledged CECA(Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement).