Australia will host a key international naval exercise, Malabar, for the first time, the Australian Associated Press reported.

For the past three years, countries participating in the Malabar exercise have held them at various locations in the Indo-Pacific region.

The upcoming exercise will involve warships and aircraft from Australia, India, Japan and the United States, which intend to expand military cooperation.

The announcement came after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the country's climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, met Saturday in Sydney with Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniyam Jaishankar.

Mr. Albanese is scheduled to travel to India in the next few weeks to finalize a trade deal between the two countries. He said he is interested in expanding economic and security ties.