St. John’s (Antigua and Barbuda): External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar met the Prime Ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2026 in St. John’s, with discussions focused on deepening bilateral cooperation across several sectors.
Sharing a glimpse of his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, EAM Jaishankar took to X and posted: “Good to see PM Albanese at CHOGM2026.”
The meeting comes amid sustained high-level engagements between the two countries aimed at further strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on the sidelines of the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in the Philippines to review defence cooperation, boost military interoperability, and address regional security challenges.
Singh emphasised the importance India places on its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Australia from July 8 to 10 for the Australia-India Annual Leaders’ Summit in Melbourne.
During this visit, the Prime Minister and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, signed 18 key agreements, including a defence pact and a civilian nuclear deal for uranium supply.
EAM Jaishankar also held a meeting with British PM Andy Burnham on the sidelines of CHOGM 2026, during which they discussed enhancing bilateral economic cooperation in the context of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and exchanged views on the evolving global situation.
“Pleased to meet PM Andy Burnham of the United Kingdom on the sidelines of CHOGM2026. Conveyed PM Narendra Modi’s warm wishes. Discussed strengthening our economic partnership in the context of CETA, as well as the global landscape,” EAM posted on X.
Earlier in July, PM Modi held a telephonic conversation with his UK counterpart Andy Burnham, where both leaders vowed to enhance cooperation between the two countries across key sectors.
PM Modi congratulated Burnham on assuming office as UK PM and conveyed his best wishes for a successful tenure.
“Delighted to speak with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Andy Burnham. Congratulated him on assuming office and conveyed my best wishes for a successful tenure. We agreed to work together across sectors such as technology, innovation, defence, security, clean energy, education and people-to-people ties and take the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to new heights,” PM Modi wrote on X after the phone call.
“We will also collaborate closely to fully harness the trade and investment opportunities presented by the recently operationalised India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, for the shared prosperity and well-being of both our people,” he added.
(IANS)
