Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is currently visiting Australia to attend the 7th Indian Ocean Conference in Perth, met Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Friday as the two leaders discussed issues related to Indo-Pacific and West Asia.

"Delighted to meet FM @SenatorWong of Australia in Perth today as we gather for the 7th Indian Ocean Conference," Jaishankar posted on X.

"Good exchange on our comprehensive strategic partnership and convergence on matters related to the Indian Ocean. Also discussed the Indo-Pacific, situation in West Asia and other regional and global topics," he said.

Indian Ocean Conference

The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Conference is being held in Perth, Australia on February 9-10 in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia, along with S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore and Perth-US Asia Centre in Australia.

The theme of this edition of the conference is "Towards a Stable and Sustainable Indian Ocean”.

S Jaishankar would address the inaugural session of the conference, along with Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka, Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, and Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore.

The 7th Indian Ocean Conference will also bring together delegations led by Ministers from over 22 countries and senior officials from 16 countries and 6 multilateral organisations.

The conference will also witness the participation of over 400 social and corporate leaders, policy practitioners, scholars, professionals, and media personnel from about 40 countries.

Since its debut in 2016 in Singapore, over the years, the Indian Ocean Conference has played an important role in bringing together countries and principal maritime partners of the region together on a common platform to deliberate upon the prospects of regional cooperation for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).