Highlights
- Scott Morrison held a first-ever bilateral virtual summit with India's Narendra Modi
- Trade, defence and COVID-19 response dominates the virtual summit
- Mr Morrison has met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, four times in the past year and a half
After efforts to meet in person were scuttled by the bushfires and the coronavirus outbreak, leaders of Australia and India held the first online bilateral talks between the two democracies which lasted for nearly 45 minutes today.
Reviewing a broad spectrum of their “comprehensive strategic partnership”, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said they were committed to expanding relations with Australia on a “wider and faster pace.”
“The role of our comprehensive strategic partnership will be more important in this period of a global epidemic. The world needs a coordinated and collaborative approach to get out of the economic and social side-effects of this pandemic,” said Mr Modi.
The summit comes nearly two months after the two prime ministers held a telephonic conversation where they discussed the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, including facilitation and support for citizens stranded in both countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison during the virtual summit. Source: AAP
Australia is home to a 700,000-strong Indian diaspora, including 106,000 students. Under the Indian government's 'Vande Bharat Mission,' a total of 1,560 Indian nationals have already been repatriated from Australia in May, with the second phase scheduled for June.
Thanking Mr Morrison for taking care of the Indian community, prime minister Modi said: “I am especially grateful for the way you have taken care of the Indian community in Australia, and especially the Indian students in these difficult times.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison during the first virtual summit with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi Source: AAP
'Time to make our relationship broader and deeper'
The relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a 'Strategic Partnership'' level in 2009, which built the momentum for bilateral cooperation in a range of key areas.
Reaffirming the commitment to strengthen those ties, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the two countries have a “natural relationship” and it’s time to make it “broader and deeper.”
“In a time like this, we want to deal very much with friends and trusted partners. And this is a partnership which has stood the test, time and again, and during the course of this current crisis.
“We share a vision for open, free, rules-based, multilateral systems in our region. Whether that is in the health area or it is in the trade or other places. We engage in those as confident but sovereign nations,” said Mr Morrison.
The two leaders signed a total of seven agreements to work together more closely the fields cyber-enabled technology, mining, logistics support, governance reforms, vocational education and training and water resources management. They also signed a landmark MoU for promoting defence cooperation.
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Tanya Spisbha, the director of the Australia-India Institute, New Delhi said the timing of the summit holds greater significance in the wake of the pandemic and each country’s growing tensions with China.
"The bilateral is perfectly timed - with Australia and India each having great influence in the Indo-Pacific. Their influence on the global stage is evidenced by 130 countries endorsing Prime Minister Morrison's call for an objective inquiry into the COVID crisis and Prime Minister Modi's active leadership in multiple fora in stewarding the economic crisis and calling for a new human-centric multilateralism," said Ms Spisbha.
"As the two superpowers China and the US continue to their bitter feud, balance is required to avoid a Cold War 1.5, " she said.
India-Australia virtual summit Source: Supplied
'ScoMosas and Gujarati khichdi'
Recently, the two leaders exchanged friendly banter on Twitter after Mr Morrison shared pictures of his version of the Indian snack, samosas which he dubbed as ‘ScoMosas.
Taking the friendly exchange further, the prime minister said he would like to taste the Gujarati khichdi, a dish from the Indian subcontinent made from rice and lentils.
"I wish I could be there for what has become the famous Modi hug," said the prime minister.
I will be able to share my samosas, which I thank you for. We had a bit of fun with that over the weekend. So next time it will have to be the Gujarati khichdi which I know is a favourite of yours - Scott Morrison
While the two leaders held virtual talks for the first time, they have, however, met in person four times during the year and a half.
They first held talks on the sidelines of East Asia Summit in Singapore in November 2018, the second time during G20 Summit in Osaka in Japan in June 2019 and then again on the margins of G7 Summit in Biarritz in France in August 2019 and on the margins of EAS in Bangkok in Thailand in November 2019.
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