Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles enjoyed drinking nimbu pani (lemon water) from a stall in Delhi on Monday and, notably, paid through the UPI digital payment system.
Later, Deputy PM Marles was also seen eating 'ram laddu' from a street stall in the national capital, enjoying the Indian delicacies.
Earlier in the day, Richard Marles interacted with the young cricket players and also played 'gully' cricket on the premises of Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Monday. He was joined by the 14-18-year-old young cricket players on the stadium premises.
The Australian leader also paid floral tribute to former Union Minister Arun Jaitley at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Further, he visited and laid a wreath at the National War Memorial along with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
The two Australian leaders will co-chair the India-Australia 2+2 dialogue with their Indian counterparts, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, later in the evening.
The second India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue will be held in the national capital on Monday, during which a wide range of strategic, defence and security issues are expected to be discussed between the two countries, an official statement said.
Moreover, the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a cornerstone of the India-Australia relationship and an opportunity to progress in working together to shape the type of region they want.
Richard Marles had earlier said, "India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is one of practical, tangible actions that directly benefit the Indo-Pacific region". Further noting that this year has seen a number of firsts in the India-Australia defence relationship, including an Indian submarine visit to Perth and Australia's hosting of Exercise Malabar, Mr Marles added that all this demonstrates the growing closeness of both nation's defence and security partnerships, according to the Australian Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Wong stated that the India-Australia partnership is central to the stability and prosperity of our shared region.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
