<p>During the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd here, the two sides decided to enhance cooperation in combating terrorism through agency-level cooperation and boost trade by expediting efforts to put in place a free trade agreement.<br /><br />The two countries also decided to cooperate closely on other matters like energy, climate change, sports, water and science and technology.<br /><br />As Rudd wound up his two-day visit here, India and Australia issued a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation entailing collaboration in areas like counter-terrorism, defence, disarmament, maritime security and non-proliferation.<br />"To give expression to the expansion and dynamism of our bilateral ties, we have agreed to take the relationship to the level of a strategic partnership," a Joint Statement issued today said.<br />Affirming that the strategic partnership between India and Australia is based on a shared desire to promote, regional and global security, the Declaration underlined the common commitment of the two sides to fight terrorism and other trans-national and organised crimes.<br />@Body:<br />INDIA-AUSTRALIA 2<br />The security cooperation between India and Australia will include information exchange and policy coordination on regional affairs in Asia region and on long-term strategic and global issues.<br />The two countries will also undertake cooperation within multilateral frameworks in Asia, in particular the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum.<br />"India and Australia will work towards developing an action plan with specific measures to advance security cooperation," the Declaration said.<br />They will have defence dialogue and cooperation within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation signed in March 2006.<br />Under the Security Cooperation Declaration, India and Australia will make efforts to combat terrorism, cooperate to fight trans-national organised crime and ensure maritime and aviation security.<br />The cooperation will be carried forward through exchange of visits at high levels including by Foreign Ministers, defence policy talks at senior officials level and participation in military exercises.<br />Bilateral consultations will also be undertaken to promote counter-terrorism cooperation through mechanisms like Joint Working Group.<br />The mechanism will also include consultations between the National Security Advisors of India and Australia. <br /><br />Noting that bilateral economic ties continue to expand rapidly to mutual benefit, the joint statement said there is significant untapped potential for even stronger trade and investment links.<br />The Joint Study Group Report on the feasibility of Free Trade Agreement between the two countries will be submitted shortly and both sides agreed to consider its recommendations expeditiously with a view to taking further action, it said.<br />Noting India’s plans to meet its future energy needs by exploring and developing all sources of energy, including nuclear, renewable and non-conventional resources, the two sides also talked about collaborative efforts ahead of the Copenhagen Summit next month.<br />The Prime Ministers agreed that meaningful progress in the areas of energy security and climate change should be made through national, bilateral and multilateral efforts in a manner that does not limit the possibilities of accelerated economic and social development. <br /><br /></p>
<p>During the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd here, the two sides decided to enhance cooperation in combating terrorism through agency-level cooperation and boost trade by expediting efforts to put in place a free trade agreement.<br /><br />The two countries also decided to cooperate closely on other matters like energy, climate change, sports, water and science and technology.<br /><br />As Rudd wound up his two-day visit here, India and Australia issued a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation entailing collaboration in areas like counter-terrorism, defence, disarmament, maritime security and non-proliferation.<br />"To give expression to the expansion and dynamism of our bilateral ties, we have agreed to take the relationship to the level of a strategic partnership," a Joint Statement issued today said.<br />Affirming that the strategic partnership between India and Australia is based on a shared desire to promote, regional and global security, the Declaration underlined the common commitment of the two sides to fight terrorism and other trans-national and organised crimes.<br />@Body:<br />INDIA-AUSTRALIA 2<br />The security cooperation between India and Australia will include information exchange and policy coordination on regional affairs in Asia region and on long-term strategic and global issues.<br />The two countries will also undertake cooperation within multilateral frameworks in Asia, in particular the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum.<br />"India and Australia will work towards developing an action plan with specific measures to advance security cooperation," the Declaration said.<br />They will have defence dialogue and cooperation within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation signed in March 2006.<br />Under the Security Cooperation Declaration, India and Australia will make efforts to combat terrorism, cooperate to fight trans-national organised crime and ensure maritime and aviation security.<br />The cooperation will be carried forward through exchange of visits at high levels including by Foreign Ministers, defence policy talks at senior officials level and participation in military exercises.<br />Bilateral consultations will also be undertaken to promote counter-terrorism cooperation through mechanisms like Joint Working Group.<br />The mechanism will also include consultations between the National Security Advisors of India and Australia. <br /><br />Noting that bilateral economic ties continue to expand rapidly to mutual benefit, the joint statement said there is significant untapped potential for even stronger trade and investment links.<br />The Joint Study Group Report on the feasibility of Free Trade Agreement between the two countries will be submitted shortly and both sides agreed to consider its recommendations expeditiously with a view to taking further action, it said.<br />Noting India’s plans to meet its future energy needs by exploring and developing all sources of energy, including nuclear, renewable and non-conventional resources, the two sides also talked about collaborative efforts ahead of the Copenhagen Summit next month.<br />The Prime Ministers agreed that meaningful progress in the areas of energy security and climate change should be made through national, bilateral and multilateral efforts in a manner that does not limit the possibilities of accelerated economic and social development. <br /><br /></p>