Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the recent ASEAN summit in Brunei. PHOTO: PIB
By News Desk
Melbourne: In a 30-minute meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Brunei ,Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott assured Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that negotiations to the nuclear cooperation agreement would be brought to closure at an early date, reports the Indian Express.
During the talks, Abbott committed to stepping up the strategic engagement with India. “The third round of discussions with Australia over uranium sales and the nuclear agreement are scheduled in December,” said Ashok Kantha, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs.
Australia, one of the first countries to sign an international agreement with India on the proposed Nalanda University, has also agreed on closer defence security cooperation with definite plans to undertake a joint naval exercise in 2015. “He (Abbott) has emphasised on much closer interaction with India,” Kantha said briefing media persons en route to Indonesia after the two-day summit in Brunei.
