Melbourne

Indiaand Australia on Thursday sealed a raft of landmark pacts spanning civil nuclear energy, maritime security and critical minerals sectors, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese reinforced the vital role of the bilateral partnership in ensuring a peaceful Indo-Pacific.

Modi held wide-ranging talks with the Australian leader, a day after landing in Australia from Indonesia in the second leg of his three-nation tour that is aimed at boosting trade and defence ties against the backdrop of an increasingly fractured geopolitical environment.

Following the Modi-Albanese meeting, the two sides unveiled an India-Australia joint declaration on defence and security, a joint statement on energy ties and a roadmap for collaboration in cyber, critical technologies and supply chains.

The pact on civil nuclear energy will facilitate the commercial supply of uranium from Australia to India to help New Delhi's nuclear power projects.

The two sides also decided to work expeditiously on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement as well as on a bilateral investment protection pact.

"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," Modi said in his media statement.

"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," he said.

Modi said both sides will also work together on a critical minerals corridor.

The prime minister also mentioned growing engagement between the two countries in the defence domain and emphasised the importance of a free and stable Indo-Pacific. The new initiatives to bolster 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.

The prime minister said the India-Australia Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap will give new impetus to shared efforts in the Indo-Pacific.

"We will also move forward together in shipbuilding, ship repair, and maintenance," he said.

Modi also said that India and Australia recognised that terrorism poses 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.

The Australian prime minister said the pact on nuclear energy will 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 the two sides are focusing on diversifying ties to grow from strength-to-strength.

"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."

"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.

Albanese said the joint declaration on defence and security cooperation will provide for deepening "practical partnership".

Melbourne

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on Thursday pitched for early finalisation of the proposed India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), saying it will propel bilateral economic ties to a "new level".

In an address at a business forum, Modi also invited Australian companies to invest in India, saying it offers "unmatched opportunities" for growth in sectors such as aviation, financial services, critical minerals, technology and food processing.

The prime minister landed in Australia on Wednesday on a three-day visit that is largely aimed at boosting defence, energy and trade ties.

Modi addressed the Australia-India CEOs Forum and the Economic Roadmap Business event ahead of his talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Leading Indian and Australian CEOs and business leaders, representatives of major Australian superannuation funds and institutional investors, and Vice-Chancellors of leading Australian universities participated in the two events.

Modi welcomed an announcement by Chief Executive of AustralianSuper Paul Schroder, that the company will invest 500 million Australian dollars in India.

"This is yet another glimpse of the global confidence in India's growth and reform trajectory. It also reflects the immense opportunities that our dynamic economy offers global investors," Modi said.

AustralianSuper is Australia's largest super fund and it manages over USD 410 billion of retirement savings on behalf of over 3.6 million people, according to the company.

In his remarks, Modi expressed satisfaction over the growth of trade and investment between the two countries following the sealing of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in 2022. To expand the business ties to a new level, Modi called for early conclusion of the proposed CECA. Both sides are working towards a mutually beneficial CECA.

In the CEOs Forum, the prime minister highlighted that India's strong economic growth, policy reforms, digital transformation, and expanding innovation ecosystem were creating new business opportunities for Australian partners.

Melbourne

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia will further deepen the strategic and economic partnership between the two countries, former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and leading Australian business executives said on Thursday. Speaking on the sidelines of the Australia-India CEOs Forum and the Economic Roadmap Business event here, Morrison said the relationship between India and Australia had reached unprecedented levels during his tenure alongside PM Modi and had continued to strengthen under the current Australian government.

"During the time PM Modi and I served in our respective roles, we were able to elevate the Australia-India relationship to the level it is at today, and I'm very pleased that it has been maintained by the Albanese Government. This relationship is only going to get stronger, and his visit here to Melbourne is incredibly important," Morrison said.

Tania Constable, Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Council of Australia, also underlined the close rapport between PM Modi and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese. "There's an obvious strong relationship between PM Modi and Prime Minister Albanese that has been there now for a few years. Great to see that that is occurring at the moment and it's that strength of relationship right at the top between our countries that will continue to drive a strong strategic partnership," she said.

Paul Henry, Senior Principal, Global Director and Co-Founder of Populous, described PM Modi's participation in the Melbourne events as a strong signal of India's commitment to expanding bilateral ties.

Canberra

HighlightingIndia's position as a top-tier security partner, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday said that the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation marks a significant step towards strengthening bilateral ties and reflects shared commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Addressing a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi following their delegation-level talks in Melbourne, Albanese said, "With new landmark agreements, we are expanding our relationship across defence and security, education, science and technology, and energy security and critical minerals."

The Australian PM said that India and Australia have released a joint declaration on defence and security cooperation to "deepen our practical partnership".

"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," he added.

"We will boost strategic coordination, increase the complexity of our defence exercises, and further build interoperability between our defence forces. We undertake to consult on defence-related developments in the Indo-Pacific that affect our shared interests. In addition, we have endorsed a joint maritime security collaboration roadmap and agreed to a new Australia-India partnership on cyber, critical technologies, and supply chains," he added. Describing Prime Minister Modi as "a true friend of Australia", Albanese said it was a "great honour" to host the Indian leader for the annual leaders' summit, asserting that Australia and India are "close partners and even closer friends" whose partnership has grown stronger. "Six years into our comprehensive strategic partnership, Australia's relationship with India has never been more consequential than it is today. Our partnership has never been stronger," said the Australian PM.

"We share a focus on deepening and diversifying the relationship between our countries so we can continue to grow from strength to strength. Today, we have done exactly that across the breadth of our relationship," he noted. Emphasising that the conflict in West Asia has had economic repercussions worldwide, Albanese said he and Prime Minister Modi welcomed a joint statement on energy security.