India and Australia on Thursday signed a landmark agreement to operationalise Australian uranium exports to India for peaceful civilian use, marking a major breakthrough during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Australia. The agreement was finalised after bilateral talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Annual India-Australia Leaders’ Summit in Melbourne.
The uranium export arrangement implements the civil nuclear cooperation pact signed between the two countries in 2014, ending years of delays. Australia, home to the world’s largest known uranium reserves, will now supply uranium to support India’s expanding nuclear energy programme under international safeguards. India aims to increase its nuclear power generation capacity to 100 GW by 2047 as part of its clean energy transition.
Besides the uranium agreement, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in defence, maritime security and the Indo-Pacific. India and Australia also pledged closer collaboration in critical minerals, renewable energy, green hydrogen, advanced technologies and resilient supply chains, reaffirming their commitment to a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Modi invited greater Australian investment in India’s infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, highlighting opportunities in clean energy, low-carbon industries and emerging technologies. During the visit, AustralianSuper also announced an additional A$500 million investment in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), reflecting growing investor confidence in the Indian economy.
Prime Minister Albanese described Modi as a “living bridge” between the two countries and reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to expanding its strategic partnership with India. The visit underscores the rapidly growing relationship between the two Indo-Pacific partners as they seek to boost economic cooperation, energy security and regional stability amid evolving geopolitical challenges.
