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External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar met the Prime Ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2026 in St. John's, with discussions centred on bolstering bilateral collaboration across multiple domains.
Sharing insights from his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, EAM Jaishankar took to X and posted, "Good to see PM Albanese at CHOGM2026." This interaction follows a series of high-level engagements aimed at further cementing the strategic partnership between the two nations. Last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on the sidelines of the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in the Philippines to review defence cooperation, boost military interoperability and address regional security challenges. During that engagement, Singh underscored the high priority New Delhi assigns to its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Canberra for maintaining a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific. Prime Minister Narendra Modi previously visited Australia from July 8 to 10 for the annual leadership summit hosted in Melbourne. During that diplomatic visit, the Prime Minister and his Australian counterpart signed 18 key agreements, including a formal defence pact and a civilian nuclear agreement for uranium supply. Continuing his schedule, EAM Jaishankar also held a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of CHOGM 2026, during which both leaders explored avenues to enhance commercial partnership under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and exchanged perspectives on the evolving global situation. "Pleased to meet PM Andy Burnham of the United Kingdom on the sidelines of CHOGM2026. Conveyed PM Narendra Modi's warm wishes. Discussed strengthening our economic partnership in the context of CETA, as well as the global landscape," EAM posted on X. Earlier in July, Prime Minister Modi held a telephonic conversation with the UK leader, during which both leaders committed to deepening bilateral cooperation across vital sectors. During the call, PM Modi congratulated Burnham on assuming office and conveyed his best wishes for a successful tenure. "Delighted to speak with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Andy Burnham. Congratulated him on assuming office and conveyed my best wishes for a successful tenure. We agreed to work together across sectors such as technology, innovation, defence, security, clean energy, education and people-to-people ties and take the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to new heights," PM Modi wrote on X after the phone call. "We will also collaborate closely to fully harness the trade and investment opportunities presented by the recently operationalised India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, for the shared prosperity and well-being of both our people," he added. (ANI)
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