External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today expressed India’s resolve to work for a rules-based international order, freedom of navigation in international waters, promoting connectivity, growth and security for all while respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations.

In a statement at the inaugural India-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Cyber Framework Dialogue co-chaired by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne in Melbourne, he also spoke about the threat posed by cross-border terrorism.

“Minister Payne and I shared concerns about terrorism and extremism. We have serious concerns about continuing cross-border terrorism and it’s our shared endeavour to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation, including in the multilateral fora,” Jaishankar said.

The meeting took place a day after the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting which was attended by Jaishankar and his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the United States.

The Indian minister said he had discussed with Payne the progress in bilateral defence and security cooperation which reflected the growing strategic convergence of the two countries.

A joint statement issued by India and Australia said the two ministers welcomed the elevation of bilateral cyber cooperation.

They recognised cooperation in the areas of cyber governance, cyber security, capacity building, innovation, digital economy, and cyber and critical technologies as an essential pillar of the India-Australia relationship. In this respect, the Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy, to be located in Bengaluru in India, demonstrated both countries’ long-term commitment to bilateral cooperation in cyber and critical technologies.

The two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to an open, secure, free, accessible, stable, peaceful, and interoperable cyberspace and technologies that adhered to international law. They emphasised that the way in which technology was designed, developed, governed and used should be informed by their shared democratic values and respect for human rights. They condemned attempts to use cyberspace and cyber-enabled technologies to undermine international peace and stability.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to secure, resilient and trusted technology and agreed to work together to address the significant threat of malicious cyber activity by state and non-state actors.