India, Australia and France recently held talks for the first time under a trilateral framework with focus on enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The virtual meeting was co-chaired by François Delattre, Secretary General – Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary – Ministry of External Affairs of India, and Frances Adamson, Secretary – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia.
“The focus of the dialogue was on enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
According to the official statement released by the Ministry, the outcome-oriented meeting was held with an objective of building on the strong bilateral relations that the three countries share with each other and synergizing their respective strength to ensure a secure, peaceful, prosperous, and rule-based Indo-pacific region.
The MEA said the three sides agreed to hold the dialogue on an annual basis.
It said the three sides discussed economic and geo-strategic challenges and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and domestic responses to the crisis.
“The three countries also had an exchange on the priorities, challenges and trends in regional and global multilateral institutions, including the best ways to strengthen and reform multilateralism,” the MEA said.
The MEA said cooperation on marine global commons and potential areas for practical partnership at the trilateral and regional level were also discussed, including through regional organisations such as ASEAN, Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Indian Ocean Commission.