Australian army chief kicks off 5-day visit to India

Chief of the Australian Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, is on a five-day visit to India (August 10-14). He is scheduled to hold high-level discussions with Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and senior officials of the Ministry of Defence.

The visit reaffirms the growing India-Australia engagement as both nations work to uphold a stable and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. At the government level, India and Australia have institutional mechanisms in place, with the most recent 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held in New Delhi in November 2023 and the next edition scheduled in Australia later this year.

The two countries are advancing cooperation in capability development, logistics, interoperability and strategic posturing in the Indo-Pacific. Operational cooperation between the Indian and Australian Armies has steadily deepened in recent years, reflected in the increasing complexity, scale and strategic relevance of joint exercises and deployments.

On the training and institutional cooperation front, both armies have maintained consistent and meaningful exchanges through premier military courses and academic programmes. A notable initiative is the India-Australia Young Officers’ Exchange Programme, conceptualised by the late Gen Bipin Rawat and launched during the 2022 Prime Minister-level virtual summit. This programme enables young officers from both armies to train together, experience field environments and understand each other’s operational ethos — an investment in future leadership synergy.