Australia and India have signed a major uranium agreement designed to finally unlock regular exports of the nuclear fuel, more than a decade after the two countries first struck a deal that failed to translate into shipments.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the new arrangement would allow uranium to flow to India for "peaceful purposes," ending years of delay. Australia and India had agreed to a uranium sales deal back in 2014, but concerns that the material could be diverted to weapons use meant regular shipments never eventuated.
Speaking alongside Albanese on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the agreement as central to expanding his country's nuclear energy sector. He said the broader relationship between the two nations was important to "bring peace, stability, freedom of navigation and a rules-based order" across the Indo-Pacific.
Albanese also pointed to a joint declaration on defence and security cooperation as evidence of deepening ties, saying the two countries had agreed to "consult on defence related developments in the Indo-Pacific that affect our shared interests."
The prime minister said the relationship had "never been stronger," adding that Australia and India shared a focus on "deepening and diversifying" their partnership. He credited Modi personally for the shift, telling a business event that the relationship had historically been "underdone, under-explored and under-examined" before improving markedly over the past decade because of Modi's "leadership and personal engagement."
A rally and a divide
The uranium announcement came ahead of Modi's first major public event of his three-day Australia visit, an address expected to draw around 30,000 members of the Indian-Australian community at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium.
Deepak-Raj Gupta, chair of the Canberra India Council, said Modi belonged to a small category of Indian public figures — alongside politicians, Bollywood stars and cricketers — capable of drawing such crowds regardless of politics. Gupta travelled to Melbourne with his wife and friends to attend Modi-related events.
Ravi Krishnamurthy, president of the Australian Multicultural Action Network, said Modi had united the Indian diaspora in Australia in a way no other figure could, describing pride among community members in strengthening ties between the two countries.
But Modi remains a polarising figure internationally. Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have criticised him over declines in living standards in India and allegations that anti-terror laws have been used against journalists, academics and minority religious groups, including Muslims and Christians.
Security concerns also surfaced ahead of the visit. The Australian Federal Police formally warned a young person over a death threat made against Modi, and a far-right influencer was reportedly removed by police after gatecrashing the Melbourne hotel where the Indian leader is staying.