PM Modi's Melbourne visit: Uranium supply deal, defence declaration, critical minerals corridor to be announced
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PM Modi's Melbourne visit: Uranium supply deal, defence declaration, critical minerals corridor to be announced Photograph: (Credit: X/@narendramodi)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Melbourne is set to supercharge India-Australia ties with a landmark commercial uranium supply agreement, a refreshed joint defence declaration, and a critical minerals supply chain corridor.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have met in Melbourne and are expected to announce a series of ambitious outcomes that promise to reshape bilateral cooperation in defence, energy security and critical minerals. The announcements will mark a significant step forward in the countries' Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Central to the announcements will be the commercial uranium supply agreement. Although a civil nuclear cooperation pact was signed in 2014, actual exports have been limited. The new deal is expected to unlock substantial Australian uranium supplies for India's civilian nuclear programme. Australia holds about a third of the world's known uranium reserves, and the agreement will help fuel New Delhi's ambitious target of expanding nuclear capacity to 100 GW by 2047.
India will also ramp up imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal and diesel from Australia amid the West Asia Hormuz crisis and the focus on diversification. Indian refiners have already ramped up purchases from Russia, the US, West Africa, Brazil, and Latin America to offset reduced West Asian supplies.
Defence cooperation will receive equally strong emphasis. A new defence declaration will be announced, which will include plans for a new defence innovation corridor to foster collaboration between Indian and Australian startups and manufacturers & focus on greater interoperability between the two forces.
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An Indian Army officer will be deployed to the Australian Defence College, signalling deeper personnel exchanges. Since their first defence cooperation agreement in 2009, India and Australia have steadily built a robust strategic partnership, including more joint exercises.
In the critical minerals domain, Australia and India will agree to establish a "critical mineral corridor" to secure supply chains for lithium, cobalt and other resources essential for batteries, renewables and defence technologies. They also advanced the PACTS agreement focusing on cybersecurity and resilient supply chains for critical technologies.
Later in the day, PM Modi will address the Indian diaspora in Melbourne. According to the 2021 census, nearly 976,000 people in Australia trace their ancestry to India, making the Indian diaspora the second-largest and fastest-growing in the country.
