Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on visit to Australia to boost defence ties

New Delhi: Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande on Sunday began a four-day visit to Australia during which he will be meeting the senior military leadership of Australia with an aim of enhancing defence cooperation between the Armed Forces of the two nations.
The visit to Australia comes three weeks after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was on a four-day state visit to India, in the first visit by an Australian PM to India in six years. The joint statement issued during the visit emphasised on the close defence cooperation between the two countries, including through implementation of the India-Australia Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement. Both also stressed on maintaining ASEAN centrality and promoting an open and rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.
During his visit, General Manoj Pande will interact with a host of senior military dignitaries from different services of the Australian Defence Forces.
He will call on the Chief of the Defence Force of Australia, the senior most Defence Officer of the nation. Besides a discussion with his counterpart, the Chief of the Australian Army, he will also interact with the Chief of the Australian Air Force. He is scheduled to meet a host of other senior dignitaries wherein he will discuss avenues for enhancing India-Australia defence relations, an official statement said.
Australia-India defence cooperation has been on an upward trajectory with a series of diverse engagements at different levels, in various domains. These include bilateral visits by senior officers, reciprocal courses of instructions and training exercises, among others. The ever-expanding defence cooperation engagements encompassing a broad spectrum of activities have established a strong bonhomie between the two Armed Forces. The visit of the COAS to Australia will further strengthen the bonds of trust and understanding between the two armies, it said.
UNI