Modi Lauds Close Australia Ties, Aims to Sign Uranium Deal

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(Bloomberg) — Hours before they’ll meet for a summit, the leaders of Australia and India lauded their nations’ close relationship as they pledged to further deepen defense and economic ties, including on the supply of nuclear fuel.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi told business leaders in Melbourne that India’s scale and Australia’s expertise create a mutually beneficial opportunity, adding that his country offers “vast opportunities,” according to a statement Thursday from the Indian government. 

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He also called on Australia to assist in his plan to develop India’s nuclear power industry. “Australia’s huge uranium reserves align directly with India’s nuclear journey. For us to increase partnership in this space, this is an historic opportunity,” Modi said at the business forum. 

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The two sides are discussing a deal to allow Australian uranium shipments to India, local media have reported. Canberra and New Delhi agreed almost a decade ago to permit the trade, but it has been delayed by negotiations over safeguards to ensure the material can’t be used for nuclear weapons.

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“As leaders, Prime Minister Modi and I are always willing to deepen and diversify the connections between our nations,” Modi’s Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese said at a separate event. “Everything that we see here today is proof that the future is indeed in very, very good hands.”

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The two leaders will meet for a summit later in the day where they are expected to sign agreements on defense and energy before attending a rally for the Indian diaspora.

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In his remarks, Albanese paid tribute to the Australian-Indian community, saying that Australian multiculturalism is “not something up for debate.” Right-wing Senator Pauline Hanson has recently called for Australia to become a monocultural society, a demand that Albanese has rejected. 

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“A lot of people don’t understand the strength of the Indian diaspora in Australia now,” CT Group Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Lynton Crosby told Bloomberg News on Thursday. He also said India represents a major demographic and economic opportunity for Australia as a trading nation, particularly after recent “hiccups” in Australia’s relationship with China.

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Modi is on a diplomatic tour of the region, arriving in Australia from Indonesia where he signed defense and industrial deals with President Prabowo Subianto. He heads to New Zealand on Friday. 

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“Modi is something of a master of strategic pragmatism because he’s building relations with countries in a way that India hasn’t always in the past,” Crosby said. 

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Meanwhile, Albanese has been on a whistle-stop tour of the region, signing defense deals with Fiji and attending a rugby league game with three counterparts from Pacific island nations Wednesday night. 

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Defense and security ties will likely be a feature of Modi’s talks with Albanese. Defense ministers from both countries met in June and pledged stronger military cooperation, including finalizing a joint maritime security roadmap. 

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Modi will receive a ceremonial welcome on Thursday afternoon followed by his bilateral talks with Albanese and joint statements. There will be no press conference.

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After arriving in Melbourne, Modi attended a musical performance, according to posts from his official account on the social media platform X. 

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—With assistance from Aryan Gupta, Brian Fowler and Haslinda Amin.

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(Updates with comments from PM Modi on uranium.)

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