Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is 'inclined' to cancel his visit to India scheduled for this month amid the worsening bushfire crisis in the country, local media reported.
"I'm inclined not to proceed on that visit. There are issues I need to resolve formally when working through issues of that nature. That is my inclination on that issue," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Morrison as saying.
Morrison is slated to visit India from January 12 to January 16 and later to Japan.
The Australian daily said that closer defence co-operation was to be a key priority for Morrison during the planned visit to India, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also to be finalised, which would commit Australia's Defence Science and Technology group to work with India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.
Wildfires have wreaked havoc in parts of Australia for months.
Earlier, the Australian Prime Minister was forced to cut short a holiday to Hawaii just before Christmas following the death of two volunteer firefighters.
