Partnership with India is closer, more important than ever: Australian Foreign Minister

Senator Penny Wong, on Thursday, thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for welcoming Foreign Ministers to the G20 FMM.

Following the G20 Foreign Minister's Meet in Delhi on Thursday, Wong took to Twitter to express her gratitude towards her Indian counterpart.

In her tweet, Wong said that Australia strongly supports India's G20 presidency.

"Thank you to my good friend S Jaishankar for welcoming Foreign Ministers to the G20 FMM today. Australia strongly supports India's G20 presidency. We are continuing to strengthen our partnership - which is closer and more important than ever," Senator Penny Wong tweeted.

Notably, the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre and nearly 40 delegations took part in the meeting.

This was the second ministerial meeting held under India's Presidency so far. The first ministerial meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held in Bengaluru.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said it is one of the largest gatherings of Foreign Ministers hosted by any G20 presidency.

At a press conference, Kwatra said, "The theme of India's G20 presidency has been enunciated repeatedly as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, roughly translating into One Earth, One Family, One Future. For India, the G20 presidency also marks the beginning of Amrit Kaal, which will lead to the centenary of our independence, towards a futuristic, prosperous, inclusive and developed society with a human-centric approach at its very core. This is also the spirit which propelled us to organise the Voice the Global South Summit in January earlier this year, which saw the participation of over 125 countries."

Notably, this was Wong's maiden visit to India and she was also preparing for her Prime Minister's visit in India later in the month.

Australian PM Anthony Albanese, Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell and Minister for Resources Madeleine King will visit India this month. Later in 2023, PM Narendra Modi will travel to Australia to attend the Quad Leaders' meeting. (ANI)