SYDNEY (MNN); Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that India and Australia had signed a landmark uranium supply agreement, paving the way for long-term fuel exports to support India’s expanding civilian nuclear energy programme.
Speaking after talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Modi said the agreement would strengthen bilateral cooperation in clean energy and help India achieve its growing energy needs.
“We have signed an important agreement on nuclear energy that will facilitate uranium supplies from Australia to India and provide fresh momentum to our clean energy goals,” Modi said.
According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, Australian uranium exports to India will be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and will remain under the safeguards and monitoring framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Prime Minister Albanese said the arrangement would help India expand its non-fossil fuel energy capacity while reinforcing strategic cooperation between the two countries.
India and Australia signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2015, but regulatory hurdles and political sensitivities had delayed large-scale uranium trade until now.
During the visit, the two leaders also highlighted the growing strategic partnership between Canberra and New Delhi. Albanese praised Modi’s leadership, saying his personal engagement had played a key role in strengthening bilateral relations.
Australia’s Indian-origin community has expanded significantly in recent years. Official figures released in June showed that, for the first time, people born in India now constitute Australia’s largest overseas-born community, surpassing those born in the United Kingdom.
Experts described the shift as a major demographic milestone, reflecting the rapidly growing people-to-people ties between the two nations.
Later on Thursday, Modi was expected to address a large community gathering in Melbourne, where organisers anticipated attendance of more than 20,000 supporters.
However, his visit also prompted planned demonstrations by groups critical of his domestic policies, including organisations raising concerns over minority rights in India, as well as separate protests against immigration.
Following his Australia visit, Modi is scheduled to travel to New Zealand.
