India, Australia to hold bilateral summit on March 21
The bilateral summit between India and Australia will take place on Monday, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
Australia will announce a Rs 1,500 crore investment in India across different sectors, marking the Australian government's largest-ever investment in the country.
Further, India and Australia will sign an MoU in the sector of critical minerals, which will facilitate India's procurement of metallic coal and lithium from Australia. According to sources, India and Australia are also expected to sign a trade pact before the end of the month.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had informed that PM Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold the second India-Australia Virtual Summit on 21 March.
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The summit comes after the first virtual summit, which took place on June 4, 2020, wherein both parties enhanced their bilateral ties to a strategic comprehensive partnership.
The leaders will review progress on several initiatives under the comprehensive strategic partnership during this summit, which will pave the way for new initiatives and enhanced cooperation between India and Australia in a range of sectors.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, India and Australia's comprehensive strategic partnership has maintained an upward trajectory, according to MEA, with both countries proceeding to collaborate closely in areas such as science and technology, cyber defence, critical and strategic minerals, water resource management and public administration and governance.
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-PTC News
