India and Australia on Thursday signed a set of major agreements covering civil nuclear energy, maritime security and critical minerals, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese underlined the importance of their partnership in ensuring a peaceful Indo-Pacific. After wide-ranging talks, the two sides unveiled a joint declaration on defence and security, a joint statement on energy ties, and a roadmap for cooperation in cyber, critical technologies and supply chains.
The agreements include a civil nuclear energy pact that will allow the commercial supply of uranium from Australia to India for New Delhi's nuclear power projects. The two countries also decided to work expeditiously on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and a bilateral investment protection pact, while stepping up cooperation in defence, shipbuilding and critical minerals.
Modi held talks with Albanese a day after arriving in Australia from Indonesia in the second leg of his three-nation tour, which is aimed at boosting trade and defence ties against the backdrop of an increasingly fractured geopolitical environment. In his media statement, Modi said, "Today, we have signed an important agreement in the field of nuclear energy.
This will open the way for uranium supplies from Australia to India and give new impetus to our clean energy objectives." He added, "Our cooperation in critical minerals is vital to our strategic security and clean energy transition. With this in mind, today we have launched the Australia-India Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies, and Supply Chains." Modi also said both sides would work together on a critical minerals corridor.
Referring to growing engagement in defence, Modi stressed the importance of a free and stable Indo-Pacific. The new initiatives to strengthen defence ties came amid growing concerns over China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific. "The Indo-Pacific is not just the confluence of two oceans.
It also symbolises the shared aspirations of like-minded democracies like India and Australia," he said. "Today, we have issued an important Joint Declaration to enhance cooperation in defence and security. Through the India-Australia Defence Innovation Corridor, we will work to connect defence startups and industries," he said. Modi said the India-Australia Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap would give new impetus to shared efforts in the Indo-Pacific and added, "We will also move forward together in shipbuilding, ship repair, and maintenance."
Modi also said India and Australia recognised that terrorism posed a serious challenge "not just to any one country, but to all of humanity". "Therefore, our fight against terrorism is shared, our resolve unwavering, and our cooperation continues to strengthen," he said. "We also believe that the tensions and conflicts raging in many parts of the world can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
Together, we will further strengthen peace, stability, freedom of navigation, and a rules-based order throughout the Indo-Pacific region," he said. In his remarks, Albanese said Australia's relationship with India "has never been more consequential than it is today". He said the nuclear energy pact would facilitate uranium exports from Australia to India for peaceful purposes. "The arrangement facilitates Australian uranium exports to India to help increase the share of non-fossil fuel power capacity, providing an additional market for the Australian resources sector," he said.
Albanese said that six years into the strategic partnership, ties had "never been stronger" and that both sides were focused on deepening and diversifying the relationship.
"Today, we have done exactly that across the breadth of our relationship. With new landmark agreements, we are expanding our relationship across defence and security education, science and technology and energy security and critical minerals," he said. He said the joint declaration on defence and security cooperation would deepen the "practical partnership" and added, "Australia values India as a top-tier security partner and the declaration reflects our shared commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region." "We will boost strategic coordination, increase the complexity of our defence exercises and further build interoperability between our defence forces," he said. Overall, the agreements marked a broad push by India and Australia to expand cooperation in energy, trade, technology and defence.