Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has visited India to meet with his counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two leaders agreed on Friday to boost ties in various fields, including maritime security. This comes as China's influence grows in the Indo-Pacific. Both Australia and India are part of the Quad framework, which includes the US and Japan.
Modi said, "We discussed in detail expanding maritime security and mutual defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region"
Albanese said, "The frequent high-level contact between Australia and India has further strengthened cooperation across a range of areas, including trade and investment, climate and energy, defense and security, and between the people of our two countries."
Modi stressed that strong ties between the two countries are key to tackling global challenges. Albanese said Australia will host the next Quad summit in May.
On Thursday, he boarded India's first home-built aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant. He was the first foreign leader to come aboard the ship. He announced this year's joint naval exercise with Quad members would take place in the waters off Australia.