Canberra. The Fifth round of India-Australia Bilateral Dialogue on Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Export Control was held in Canberra on November 1.

Indian delegation was led by Indra Mani Pandey, Additional Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), while Australian delegation was led by Richard Sadleir, First Assistant Secretary, International Security Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

During the consultations, the two sides exchanged views on a range of contemporary export control, disarmament & non-proliferation issues of mutual interest.

Both sides reiterated the importance of holding the Dialogue regularly, which enables the two countries to enhance their mutual understanding of various issues of strategic significance to them.

India and Australia enjoy very close friendly relations, which is described as ‘Strategic Partnership’. The two sides agreed to hold the next round of Dialogue on a mutually convenient date in New Delhi in 2019.