Australia, India Reach Uranium Export Deal, Expand Clean Energy Cooperation

Australia and India agreed on Thursday to begin Australian uranium exports for India's civilian nuclear energy sector, while expanding cooperation in renewable energy, critical minerals and green hydrogen.

The agreement gives India access to Australia's vast uranium reserves as it works towards a target of 100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2047. For Australia, the deal supports efforts to diversify trade beyond its heavy reliance on China, its largest trading partner.

"Australia and India are close partners and even closer friends," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Melbourne after finalising the agreement with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"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."

Although the two countries signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2014, uranium exports have remained limited because of concerns over ensuring the fuel is used solely for peaceful purposes such as electricity generation.

Modi said ties between India and Australia presented "historic opportunities" to deepen cooperation across multiple sectors.

Australia's technology, capital and natural resources could help accelerate India's energy transition, he said, while also signalling potential collaboration in low-carbon aluminium production.

"We have historic opportunities to cooperate in this field," Modi said, urging Australian businesses to make long-term investments in India's roads, ports, railways and urban infrastructure.

"India provides a safe, stable and sustainable growth option for your funds," he said.

Australia's largest pension fund, AustralianSuper, also announced on Thursday it would invest an additional A$500 million ($347 million) in India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.

After attending the business event with Modi, Albanese described the Indian leader as a "living bridge" between the two countries, saying his vision had helped reshape Australia's economic engagement with India.

India is Australia's fifth-largest trading partner after China, Japan, the U.S. and South Korea. About one million people in Australia, which has a population of 28 million, claim Indian ancestry.

Modi, who last visited Australia in 2023, is expected to address thousands of members of the Indian diaspora at one of Melbourne's largest stadiums on Thursday evening.

The Indian leader has regularly held large-scale events during overseas visits, addressing packed stadiums in Britain, the United States and other countries with sizeable Indian communities. Thousands of supporters filled one of Sydney's largest indoor stadiums during his previous visit three years ago.

Modi arrived in Australia after visiting Indonesia, where he signed a series of agreements on agriculture and defence, including cooperation on the BrahMos cruise missile system. He is due to leave for New Zealand on Friday before returning to India.

(inputs from Reuters)