2022 will see even greater advancement in India-Australia ties: Jaishankar

New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS) India is confident that 2022 will see even greater advancement in India-Australia ties, said External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar after a conversation over telephone with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne.Jaishankar called up Payne to wish her on the New Year. India and Australia are members of the Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue partners, a strategic dialogue between the US, India, Japan, and Australia, geopolitically significant in the Indo-Pacific region.Since 2014, India- Australia have been working hard to strengthen bilateral relations through various programmes. Australia has placed India at the forefront of its international partnerships. Two-way Prime Ministerial visits in 2014 have been followed by regular leaders' meetings. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited New Delhi and Mumbai in April 2017.The Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP) grant programmes are to help support a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific underpinned by the rule of law and respect for sovereignty. They will help deliver practical outcomes under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit in November 2019, whereas the $12.7 million Australia-India Cyber and Critical Technology Partnership (AICCTP) contributes to Australian government priorities to promote a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The AICCTP complements the Australia-India Framework Arrangement on Cyber and Cyber-Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation signed by Payne and Jaishankar as part of the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced during the Leaders' Virtual Summit on June 4, 2020.
--IANS nimish/vd

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