CENTRE FOR AIR POWER STUDIES - Bolstering India-Australia Relations

In November 2020, Australia joined the Quad Malabar defence exercise along with India and other Quad members and also attended the first Quad summit meeting with the US and Japan. [...] Their economic relationship has seen a major boost through the signing of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) in April 2022 between the two trade ministers.6 This agreement is known to be a major milestone and aims at prosperous bilateral trade and achieving ambitious targets for the economies of both nations. [...] At the March 2022 summit, the two nations expressed their commitment to a free and open rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific supported by the ASEAN centrality. [...] Both nations have widely increased their engagement in the Indo-Pacific region through the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative of India, the Indo-Pacific approach of Australia and the Pacific setup. [...] India and Australia also engage in the Indian Ocean with partners in forums at the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and in multilateral exercises like the Malabar and the Indo-Pacific endeavour.