New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday congratulated Richard Marles on his reappointment as Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.

In a post on X, Rajnath Singh stated that he looked forward to continuing India's close cooperation with Australia to strengthen bilateral defence ties further.

'Heartiest congratulations to my friend @RichardMarlesMP on his reappointment as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence for Australia. Looking forward to continuing our close cooperation to further strengthen bilateral defence ties under India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,' Singh posted on X.

https://x.com/rajnathsingh/status/1925803353071607837

Richard Marles' reappointment as Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently secured victory in the elections. Senior ministers, including Defence Minister Richard Marles, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Education Minister Jason Clare, continue to hold their portfolios.

Albanese has unveiled his ministers for the second term and named former communications minister Michelle Rowland as attorney-general after Mark Dreyfus was removed from the front bench due to factional negotiations, ABC News reported.

West Australian and Muslim MP Anne Aly will be promoted to cabinet, after fellow Muslim MP Ed Husic was sidelined along with Dreyfus last week, ABC News reported. Albanese is the first Prime Minister in Australia in more than two decades to secure back-to-back election victories, the first since John Howard, Al Jazeera reported.

On May 6, Anthony Albanese thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for congratulating him on his election win and said that he looked forward to working with him in the coming years to build a prosperous future for the two nations. He emphasised the strong ties between India and Australia.

Albanese's statement came in response to a post shared by PM Modi on X. Albanese stated, 'Thank you for the call Prime Minister @narendramodi and for your warm congratulations. The relationship between Australia and India has never been stronger. I look forward to working with you over the coming years to build a prosperous future for our region.'

PM Modi said he congratulated Albanese on his re-election. Both leaders agreed to work together to advance the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

'Spoke with my friend @AlboMP to personally congratulate him on his party's historic victory. We agreed to work together with renewed vigour to advance the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and explore new areas of cooperation,' PM Modi posted on X.

PM Modi invited Albanese to visit India, including for the Annual Summit and the QUAD Summit, which will be hosted in India later in the year.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, 'The Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) between the two countries. They noted that in its five years, the CSP has seen robust cooperation developing across a diverse range of sectors. They stressed on the role played by the vibrant Indian origin diaspora in cementing bilateral ties.'

PM Modi and Albanese exchanged views on regional and global matters of mutual interest. They reiterated their commitment to working together to promoting a free, open, stable, rules-based, prosperous Indo-Pacific. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch. (ANI)