India, Australia 2+2 dialogue: emphasis on combating terrorism without compromise

<p>Amid the Afghanistan crisis India and Australia on Saturday held a high-level foreign and defence ministerial dialogue.</p> <p>During the inaugural &lsquo;two-plus-two&rsquo; talks the two nations set out an ambitious framework for defence with Afghanistan as a major subject of discussion.</p> <p>India and Australia asserted that Afghanistan must not allow its soil to be used for terrorism and it should never again become a safe haven for breeding and training of terrorists</p> <p>Further, the two countries also discussed the significant challenges facing the Indo-Pacific and deliberated on collaboration in dealing with Covid-19 pandemic in future.</p> <p>With the talks being held on a day which marks two decades from the 9/11 terror attacks, EAM Jaishankar said that the date is a &lsquo;reminder of importance of combating terrorism without compromise&rsquo;.</p> <p>On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held wide-ranging discussions with his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton, while Jaishankar met foreign minister Marise Payne ahead of the &lsquo;two-plus-two&rsquo; dialogue.</p> <p>In their talks, the two defence ministers discussed the fragile security situation in the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and their &ldquo;common concerns&rdquo; relating to the possible spread of terrorism from there.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>