New Delhi. The Fourth Round of India-Australia Maritime Dialogue was held in Canberra on November 2.

Indian delegation was led by Indra Mani Pandey, Additional Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), while Australian delegation was led by Paul Myler, Acting First Assistant Secretary, South and West Asia Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The two sides exchanged views on various topics of mutual interest, including Indian Ocean Region, Maritime Domain Awareness, cooperation in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and Search and Rescue (SAR) and collaboration in Scientific Research.

They discussed the ways and means of further strengthening their bilateral cooperation in these areas.

Both sides reiterated the importance of holding the Dialogue regularly, which enables the two countries to enhance their mutual understanding of various issues of strategic significance to them.

India and Australia enjoy very close friendly relations, which is described as ‘Strategic Partnership’. The two sides agreed to hold the next round of Dialogue on a mutually convenient date in New Delhi in 2019.