India Vs Australia: Australian Deputy Prime Minister Markle will watch the India-Australia World Cup cricket final in Ahmedabad.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will be on a two-day visit to India from Sunday to participate in the second edition of the "2+2" ministerial dialogue between the two countries.

Announcing Marles' visit, the Defense Ministry said he would also attend the Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is also coming to India to attend the talks to be held in Delhi on Monday.

Rajnath Singh will lead the delegation

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation at the talks.

The Defense Ministry on Saturday announced Marley's visit to India. He also serves as the Australian Defense Minister.

"Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles will visit India from 19 to 20 November to co-chair the second India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh," a statement said.

The ministry said Singh and Markles will hold a bilateral meeting on November 20 followed by "2+2" talks.

There will be a meeting with Singh and Jaishankar

It said the "2+2" dialogue would be co-chaired by Singh and Jaishankar with their Australian counterparts.

The Defense Ministry said, India and Australia share a comprehensive strategic partnership and Minister Markles' visit is expected to provide further impetus to cooperation as well as bilateral defense cooperation.

It said that a wide range of issues of mutual interest to the two countries are expected to be discussed during the 2+2 talks and the bilateral Defense Ministers' meeting.

The inaugural "2+2" ministerial dialogue between India and Australia took place in September 2021.

India has such a framework for interaction with very few countries, including the United States and Japan.

The latest edition of the India-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue was held in New Delhi on November 10.

Bilateral defense and strategic relations between India and Australia have been growing rapidly over the years.

In June 2020, the two countries upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark agreement for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support.

The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows the armies of both the countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating enhanced overall defense cooperation.