India and Australia on Thursday signed a series of agreements on civil nuclear energy, maritime security, critical minerals and defence as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese underlined the importance of their partnership in keeping the Indo-Pacific peaceful and stable.
The summit in Melbourne produced 18 agreements, including a civil nuclear energy pact to enable the commercial supply of Australian uranium for India’s nuclear power projects. The two sides also decided to speed up work on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and a bilateral investment protection framework, while giving special attention to stronger defence ties in the maritime domain amid regional concern after China’s submarine-launched long-range ballistic missile test earlier this week.
The agreements signed after the talks included a joint declaration on defence and security cooperation, a maritime security collaboration roadmap, a joint statement on energy security, and an Australia-India Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies, and Supply Chains. India and Australia also signed an agreement between the Indian Coast Guard and Australia’s Maritime Border Command for cooperation in maritime law enforcement, domain awareness and maritime border protection. The two countries also decided to work closely in shipbuilding, ship repair and maintenance.
Under the energy security framework, the two sides said they would strengthen energy security by maintaining a stable, secure and reliable supply of coal, diesel, other liquid fuels and natural gas. The maritime roadmap sets out long-term defence and security cooperation, including deeper collaboration in the defence industry to co-develop military hardware, build resilient supply chains, improve inter-operability and information-sharing between their armed forces, and expand aircraft deployments from each other’s territories. An announcement was also made on the deployment of an Indian military instructor at the Australian Defence College for 2028-29.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Albanese had flagged China’s missile test with concern and that both countries wanted peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. He said the two leaders agreed it was time to raise the ambition of the partnership in areas such as cyber security, critical technologies, supply chain diversification and technology security. Misri also said the leaders exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues, including terrorism and violent extremism, that Modi reiterated India’s desire for sustained peace in West Asia, and that both leaders backed the Quad as an important mechanism to address challenges such as infrastructure, emerging technologies, cyber security, supply chain resilience, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, maritime security and counter-terrorism.
Modi described the outcomes of the talks as ‘unparalleled’, particularly in renewable energy, climate action, nuclear energy, critical minerals, technology and education. ‘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 said. Referring to critical minerals, he said, ‘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.’ Misri said both sides were able to finalise the nuclear pact with mutual satisfaction, and Modi said the two countries would also work together on a critical minerals corridor.
On defence and the Indo-Pacific, Modi said, ‘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 added, ‘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 the maritime security 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 terrorism as a serious challenge to all humanity and said their fight against it was shared. ‘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.
On trade and investment, Modi said the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed in 2022 had steadily expanded trade and investment horizons. ‘We have now decided to expedite work on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which will be balanced, ambitious, and a win-win for both countries. We will also move forward rapidly on the Bilateral Investment Treaty,’ he said. He also described India and Australia as vibrant democracies and ocean powers and said their shared worldview and deep mutual trust would help take the partnership forward. Modi arrived in Australia from Indonesia on the second leg of his three-nation tour, aimed at boosting trade, energy and defence ties.
Albanese said Australia’s ties with India were at a particularly important stage. ‘Six years into our strategic partnership, Australia’s relationship with India has never been more consequential than it is today. Our partnership has never been stronger,’ he said. ‘We share a focus on deepening and diversifying the relationship between our countries so we can continue to grow from strength to strength.’ On the nuclear pact, he said, ‘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 added that the new agreements were expanding the relationship across defence and security, education, science and technology, energy security and critical minerals. On defence cooperation, Albanese said the joint declaration would deepen the ‘practical partnership’ between the two countries. ‘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 inter-operability between our defence forces,’ he said.
The summit also saw movement in education and space cooperation. A letter of approval was handed over to the Australian side for Victoria University to operate a campus in Gurugram, while a separate letter of intent was issued to Flinders University to set up a campus in Bengaluru. Misri said space was one of the newer areas of cooperation and that Australia was taking steps to extend support to India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
Overall, the Modi-Albanese talks produced agreements across nuclear energy, defence, maritime security, critical minerals, trade, education and technology, while both sides stressed a stronger partnership, closer strategic coordination and a shared commitment to peace, stability and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
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