New Delhi: Australian Chief of Defence Force General Angus Campbell called on Indian Army chief General MM Naravane on Wednesday and discussed ways to strengthen the defence cooperation between the two countries.

India-Australia defence cooperation continued to expand during the year 2021-22. Australia participated in Exercise Malabar along with India, US and Japan. India was invited for the first time to observe the bi-annual Australia-USA bilateral Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021.

The fourth edition of bilateral maritime Exercise AUSINDEX between the Indian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was held on 6-10 September 2021 off Australia's Northern Territory coast.

For the first time, the Indian Navy participated along with the navies of France, Japan, the United States and Australia in the multilateral maritime exercise La Perouse in the Eastern Indian Ocean from April 5-7 2021.

A 'Joint Guidance for the Australia - India Navy to Navy Relationship' was signed between the Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy on August 18 2021. Consequent to this, the 'Terms of Reference for the Conduct of Navy-to-Navy Talks' was signed on September 29 2021. The Australian Industry and Defence Network (AIDN) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on September 23, 2021, establishing a framework of cooperation between the two defence industry associations.