India-France-Australia trilateral to focus on securing supply chains

The Ministerial level meet will also focus on stronger ties with the ASEAN bloc to counter Chinese influence, officials said

Securing supply chains across categories will be the principal aim of the upcoming India-France-Australia trilateral later this week. In the backdrop of the now seven-month-long Ukraine war which has been worsening food security and causing a scarcity of wheat in particular, and the increasing economic friction with China, all three nations want to prioritise supply chains, officials said.

They added that closer economic integration with countries in the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) block would also be on the agenda.

The ministerial level trilateral will be attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is currently in New