Defence Minister of Australia Richard Marles assured New Delhi that his country is with India in the fight against terrorism.
Marles, who is also the country's deputy prime minister, is in India as part of a four-nation trip aimed at boosting security cooperation with South and Southeast Asia. He is also scheduled to visit the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Marles, the first senior Australian minister to visit India after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese retained power for a second term following his Labor party's victory in the parliamentary election, said the opportunity to work closely with India is "exciting".
During the opening remarks in his meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, he said, "The opportunity to work closely with you again over the next three years is really exciting. I have deeply appreciated our relationship over the last three years and the progress that we have made. I want to pass on our prime minister's condolences to India for all the lives lost in the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of those who were killed in the appalling terrorist attack."
He said Australia stands with India and all countries in combating terrorism and added that his country will continue to work with India as we combat terrorism in all its forms.
Singh said it is heartening to note the significant milestones achieved in bilateral defence relations between the two countries since the last meeting between the two leaders.
"I hope that in the coming years, we work with renewed momentum, effectively contributing to the growth of bilateral defence relations... Largely due to your personal commitment and leadership in strengthening India-Australia defence and security cooperation, in the past three years, bilateral defence cooperation has emerged as an important pillar of our comprehensive strategic partnership," Singh said.
Noting that the meeting between the two defence ministers is taking place at a time when India is facing extreme challenges at our western border, Singh said, "We thank Australia for its support on this issue. We shall be talking more about this later in the meeting."