Australia, India strike deal on uranium exports during PM Modi’s visit

Australia and India have signed an agreement to export Australian uranium to India for use in the nuclear energy industry.

“We have signed an important agreement today on nuclear energy,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday after talks with his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in Melbourne.

“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”.

India has long eyed Australia’s uranium reserves, which make up around 28 percent of the world’s supply, to help meet a target of 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2047 while Australia is looking to diversify trade beyond its reliance on China, its top partner.

The exports would fall under safeguards established by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the global nuclear watchdog.

“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 2014. However, Australia has exported limited supplies of uranium to India over concerns that the material could be used to make weapons.

Modi and Albanese also agreed to strengthen defence cooperation and bolster supply chains for critical minerals.

The two nations also plan to 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 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.

India is Australia’s fifth largest trading partner. Two-way trade in goods and services was valued at 54.4 billion Australian dollars (US$37.7bn) during the 2024-2025 financial year, according to Australian government figures.

Modi arrived in Australia after visiting Indonesia, where he signed a series of deals on agriculture and defence. He will leave for New Zealand on Friday before returning to India.