NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold the second India-Australia Virtual Summit on 21 March, informed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in its weekly briefing on Thursday.

The summit follows the first virtual summit that was held on June 4, 2020, wherein both sides enhanced their bilateral relations to a strategic comprehensive partnership.

During this summit, the leaders will take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the comprehensive strategic partnership and the summit will lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhanced cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between India and Australia, informed MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

Bagchi further said that both the leaders are expected to commit to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education among other issues. “The leaders will also discuss views on regional and international issues. The summit highlights the importance both countries attach to their bilateral relations as well as their close cooperation on global and regional issues,” he stated.

The ministry said that India-Australia’s comprehensive strategic partnership has maintained the momentum of an upward trajectory with both countries continuing to collaborate closely despite the COVID-19 pandemic in areas such as science and technology, cyber defense, critical and strategic minerals, water resources management as well as public administration and governance.

Notably, PM Modi and Morrison met in Washington DC for the first in-person meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2021 on the margins of the Quad Leaders’ Summit and jointly launched the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) in Glasgow on the margins of the COP26 in November 2021. (ANI)