New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, holding discussions on the growing India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in various sectors.

“Happy to receive Senator Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia. We discussed the growing India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in areas such as defence, trade, technology and ensuring supply chain resilience. India and Australia will continue to work for a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” PM Modi wrote on X after the meeting.

Wong arrived in New Delhi on Monday to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and held bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, amid growing focus on regional security and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

She stated that Quad is taking several new initiatives, including an energy security initiative, working on critical minerals, and support for port infrastructure in Fiji.

In her joint press statement along with Foreign Ministers of India, Japan and the US following the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Wong stated, “At every meeting that we have had, we have been focused on momentum and on making sure we deliver outcomes which are real, which are meaningful for our people and for the people of Indo-Pacific. As Minister Jaishankar has said, we recognise our obligation, our responsibility to provide real choices, particularly as strategic circumstances in our region (Indo-Pacific) are deteriorating. The region is facing acute economic stress.”

“We are also today announcing the strongest ever commitment from the Quad to the Pacific through the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership, where we are launching a pilot for port infrastructure in Fiji…In addition, we are focusing on what more we can do to ensure a transparent, more secure maritime domain in the Indo-Pacific,” she added.

She also announced that the Quad nations will work together to strengthen cooperation against scam centres, especially in the Southeast Asia.

“A point I do also want to emphasise in terms of outcomes we’ve delivered to date is that we are delivering, as a collective, undersea cables to all Pacific Island Forum countries, which enhances economic opportunities. We are also working together to strengthen cooperation against scam centres, particularly in South East Asia, building law enforcement capacity and deepening cyber cooperation. These are just some of the measures, practical measures, the Quad Countries are engaged in. We know we are stronger when we work together. We know we work better in partnership across our region, and we work best by listening to the priorities of our region and delivering practical outcomes to make a difference to our people’s lives,” the Australian Foreign Minister said.

–IANS

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