EAM S Jaishankar meets Australian counterpart Marise Payne on QUAD 2020 sidelines

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, along sidelines of Quad Meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. Sharing photos of ir meeting, EAM revealed that two countries reviewed  progress of ir bilateral ties along with discussing how this cooperation in global affairs and regional issues could be extended. two countries also strengned ir resolve to work toger more closely in multilateral forums.

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Read: QUAD Meeting 2020: EAM Jaishankar Says India, US Will Work For 'stability' In Indo-Pacific

EAM stresses on importance of Indo-Pacific region 

While addressing dignitaries in Quad meeting, EAM Jaishankar in a veiled dig at China stressed need to uphold rule-based international order in international seas along while respecting  territorial integrity and sovereignty of or nations. "We remain committed to upholding rule-based international order, underpinned by rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in international seas, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes," said EAM S Jaishankar at Quad Ministerial Meeting. 

"It's a matter of satisfaction that Indo-Pacific concept has gained increasingly wider acceptance. Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative that we tabled at East Asia Summit last year is development with considerable promise in that context," he added.

He also spoke about how uncharted waters needed to be navigated and protected collectively given events of year and COVID-19 pandemic. " events of this year have clearly demonstrated how imperative it is for like-minded countries to coordinate responses to various challenges that pandemic has brought to fore. As we collectively navigate se uncharted waters, we seek to emerge from pandemic more resilient than ever before," he said.

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also kwn as Quad, is an informal strategic forum between India, US, Japan, and Australia. strategic alliance was formed to ensure peace and stability in Indo-Pacific and check China’s expansionist efforts in region, which has become a major cause of concern for a rules-based order. 

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(Im credits- DrSJaishankar/Twitter)