INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi said he clinched a uranium supply agreement while visiting Australia on Thursday (9), securing a fuel source that will play a crucial role in his nation's nuclear energy ambitions.
Faced with an almost-insatiable appetite for electricity in the world's most populous nation, Modi has outlined plans to substantially scale up nuclear power generation in coming years.
Australia lays claim to around 28 per cent of the world's uranium resource, but legal hurdles and political sensitivities have hindered exports to India.
"We have signed an important agreement today on nuclear energy," Modi said after talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
"This will pave the way for uranium supplies from Australia to India and give our clean energy objectives fresh momentum."
A joint statement said the arrangement allowed long-term uranium exports for "exclusively peaceful purposes".
The exports would fall under safeguards established by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"The arrangement facilitates Australian uranium exports to India, to help increase the share of non-fossil fuel power capacity," Albanese told reporters.
India and Australia entered a nuclear cooperation agreement in 2015 that paved the way for uranium exports.
India and Australia have grown considerably closer in recent years, partly driven by a joint desire to keep Beijing's military ambitions in check while cultivating trading partners outside China.
Modi and Albanese also agreed to strengthen defence cooperation and to bolster supply chains for critical minerals. The two nations would build a "temporary space tracking terminal" on Australia's Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, which will support Indian space flight projects, according to a joint statement.
Albanese praised Modi's leadership
Albanese sported a wide grin as the two leaders briefly paused 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 pull bigger crowds than US rock icon Bruce Springsteen.
Albanese praised Modi's leadership for helping foster stronger ties between the two nations.
"Prime minister Modi, your leadership and your personal engagement with Australia has been absolutely central to this change," Albanese said.
Australia's Indian diaspora has grown substantially in recent years, giving Modi a sizeable fanbase in the country.
For the first time on record, the biggest group of Australian residents born overseas came from India, statistics for last year showed in June.
"In 2014, the Indian diaspora community in Australia was relatively small," said Teesta Prakash from the Australia India Institute. "But in 2026, it is now the largest diaspora community within Australia. It has outstripped the British, which is a huge demographic change," she said.
Modi is set to receive a rock-star welcome when he fronts a community rally at a stadium in Melbourne later on Thursday, with organisers anticipating more than 20,000 people could flock to the event.
But Modi's visit is also expected to stir up opposition, including criticism that he has fostered a dangerous brand of Hindu nationalism at home.
Australia's Alliance Against Islamophobia said it would protest outside the stadium event, drawing attention to what it said was the persecution of minority groups in India.
Anti-immigration protesters also gathered ahead of the rally, holding placards calling to "Put Australians First".
Modi is scheduled to fly to New Zealand after Australia.
(AFP)
