- Exports will be subject to safeguards established by the IAEA.
- Two nations to build “temporary space tracking terminal.”
- Albanese praises Modi’s leadership for helping strengthen ties.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he reached a uranium supply deal during his visit to Australia on Thursday, securing a fuel source that will play a crucial role in his country’s nuclear ambitions.
Facing a nearly insatiable appetite for electricity in the world’s most populous country, Modi has outlined plans to dramatically increase nuclear power generation in the coming years.
Australia claims about 28% of the world’s uranium resources, but legal hurdles and political sensitivities have hampered exports to India.
“Today we signed an important agreement on nuclear energy,” Modi said after talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
“This will pave the way for the supply of uranium from Australia to India and provide further impetus to our clean energy goals.”
A joint statement said the agreement allows long-term uranium exports for “exclusively peaceful purposes.”
Exports would be subject to safeguards established by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“This agreement facilitates Australian uranium exports to India, to help increase the share of non-fossil energy capacity,” Albanese told reporters.
India and Australia entered into a nuclear cooperation agreement in 2015 that paved the way for uranium exports.
India and Australia have grown significantly closer in recent years, driven in part by a shared desire to contain Beijing’s military ambitions while cultivating trading partners outside China.
Modi and Albanese also agreed to strengthen defense cooperation and strengthen supply chains of essential minerals.
The two countries would build a “temporary space tracking terminal” on Australia’s Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean that would support Indian spaceflight projects, according to a joint statement.
“A huge demographic change”
Albanese wore a wide smile as the two leaders stopped briefly to take a selfie photo earlier in the day.
The Australian prime minister has previously referred to Modi as “The Boss”, joking that he could draw bigger crowds than American rock icon Bruce Springsteen.
Albanese hailed Modi’s leadership for helping strengthen ties between the two nations.
“Prime Minister Modi, your leadership and personal engagement with Australia has been absolutely essential to this change,” Albanese said.
Australia’s Indian diaspora has grown significantly in recent years, giving Modi a significant fan base in the country.
For the first time, the largest group of overseas-born Australian residents came from India, according to last year’s statistics released in June.
“In 2014, the Indian diaspora community in Australia was relatively small,” said Teesta Prakash of the Australia India Institute.
“But in 2026, it is now the largest diaspora in Australia. It has overtaken the British, which is a huge demographic change,” she told AFP.
Modi is expected to receive a rock star welcome when he leads a community rally at a Melbourne stadium later on Thursday, with organizers predicting more than 20,000 people could flock to the event.
But Modi’s visit is also expected to spark opposition, including criticism that he has encouraged dangerous Hindu nationalism at home.
The Australian Alliance Against Islamophobia announced it would protest outside the stadium, drawing attention to what it sees as the persecution of minority groups in India.
Anti-immigration protesters also gathered ahead of the rally, holding signs calling for “putting Australians first”.
Modi is expected to fly to New Zealand after Australia.
