India, Australia to step up anti-terror cooperation

New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) In an effort to impart
dynamism to their ties, India and Australia have decided to
take their relationship to the strategic partnership level as
they agreed to work closely on security matters by creating a
comprehensive framework in this field.
During the talks between Prime Minister of India
Manmohan Singh and his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd here,
the two sides decided to enhance cooperation in combating
terrorism through agency-level cooperation and boost trade by
expediting efforts to put in place a free trade agreement.
The two countries also decided to cooperate closely on
other matters like energy, climate change, sports, water and
science and technology.
As Rudd wound up his two-day visit here, India and
Australia issued a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation
entailing collaboration in areas like counter-terrorism,
defence, disarmament, maritime security and non-proliferation.
"To give expression to the expansion and dynamism of
our bilateral ties, we have agreed to take the relationship to
the level of a strategic partnership," a Joint Statement
issued Friday said.
Affirming that the strategic partnership between India
and Australia is based on a shared desire to promote, regional
and global security, the Declaration underlined the common
commitment of the two sides to fight terrorism and other
trans-national and organised crimes. (MORE) PTI