Sydney [Australia], August 14 (ANI): Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has lauded the leadership skills of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him 'quite unapologetic' about maintaining his freedom of manoeuvre.

Speaking virtually during the Indo-Mediterranean Dialogues, the former Australian PM emphasised that India under PM Modi's leadership prioritises advancing its national interest.

'He'll pick up the phone, and he'll talk to whoever he wants to. He'll go to whichever country he needs to, to advance India's national interest,' said Morrison.

He also praised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as an 'able lieutenant' who had been 'incredibly industrious' in implementing that approach.

Morrison, who served as the Australian Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, had previously met PM Modi in Melbourne in July this year.

Morrison also asserted that India will be indispensable to the future strategic balance of the Indo-Pacific, stating that New Delhi's engagement is what gives the Quad its distinct character and fundamentally sets it apart from other regional groupings.

The former Australian Prime Minister discussed the rapidly changing security architecture stretching from West Asia and the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, highlighting the growing strategic importance of India alongside the emergence of the new Mecca Defence Pact, China's expanding regional influence, and the future of the Quad and AUKUS.

Morrison emphasised that the international order is becoming increasingly distributed, creating space for new powers and new minilateral groupings where India will be one of the principal beneficiaries.

'India in particular,' Morrison said, is taking on 'a much more important role within geopolitics and certainly within the Indo-Pacific.' (ANI)