New Delhi: More than a decade after signing a civil nuclear agreement, India and Australia on Thursday (July 9) finalised the arrangements needed to begin Australian uranium exports, even as Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese expressed concern over renewed hostilities in West Asia and called for restraint.The announcement came during a state visit by Modi in Melbourne for the third Australia-India Annual Summit, where he and Albanese also unveiled a new defence declaration, several technology pacts and a string of business and education deals. The Indian prime minister is on a three-nation trip, which began in Indonesia and will conclude in New Zealand.“Today, we can confirm the signing of the Administrative Arrangement to enable uranium exports to India for peaceful purposes under the 2015 Australia-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement,” Albanese told reporters at a joint press conference. He said the arrangement would help India “increase the share of non-fossil fuel power capacity” and open “an additional market for the Australian resources sector”.Modi called it “an important agreement” that would “open up the path to uranium supply from Australia to India” and give India’s clean energy plans “new strength”. Neither leader specified volumes or a start date for shipments in their remarks.A joint statement on energy security issued alongside the summit communique said the two countries “have finalised the administrative arrangements necessary to enable the export of Australian uranium to India for exclusively peaceful purposes and under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, as provided for under the Australia-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (2015).”While an administrative arrangement had been concluded earlier, “it had not been possible to operationalise it because there was not agreement fully on reporting-related issues” governing safeguarded uranium transfers, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri told reporters.Since uranium transfers would take place under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, India and Australia also needed a bilateral understanding on accounting and reporting procedures “that would satisfy both sides” and ensure that “the expectations of both sides with regard to the supply, the handling and the accounting and reporting of material were in place”.“As a result of very intense discussions over a period of … almost two years, both sides were able to, to mutual satisfaction, conclude these issues,” he said.The agreement signed on Thursday establishes that framework, after which commercial contracts for uranium supplies can be negotiated between Australian producers and their Indian counterparts.The breakthrough comes nearly 11 years after Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s visit to New Delhi had led to the signing of the agreement in September 2014, which itself was a reversal of decades of Australia’s non-proliferation policy.Australia, which possesses the world’s largest known uranium reserves, accounting for nearly one-third of global reserves, had barred uranium sales to any country outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) since 1998. India, a nuclear-armed state that never signed the NPT, only became eligible after a 2008 Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver opened the door to nuclear trade with New Delhi, following the earlier US-India nuclear deal.Canberra lifted its own ban in 2012 under the Julia Gillard government, and the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was signed two years later and entered into force in November 2015.“As a result of very intense discussions over a period of … almost two years, both sides were able to, to mutual satisfaction, conclude these issues,” Misri said. Photo: MEAphotogallery/Flickr.Addressing an India-Australia business reception earlier on Thursday, Modi said India had recently opened its nuclear sector to private participation through the SHANTI Act.“Australia’s vast uranium reserves are directly linked to India’s nuclear journey,” Modi said, describing the sector as presenting a “historic opportunity” for bilateral cooperation.Misri described the agreement as “a major shot in the arm” for India’s clean energy ambitions, saying that expanding access to reliable uranium supplies would support the country’s target of installing 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047.Concern over renewed fighting in West AsiaThe summit took place as a fragile ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict unravelled, with Washington launching fresh strikes on Iran after Tehran targeted commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US-allied Gulf states, reviving concerns over regional stability, shipping through the Hormuz chokepoint and global energy supplies.In their joint statement, Modi and Albanese “expressed concern over renewed escalation of tensions in the Middle East” and called on “all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions and ensure protection of civilians as well as the uninterrupted flow of energy supplies and commerce.”They reiterated that dialogue, diplomacy and adherence to international law remained essential to achieving “a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict”.In the separate joint statement on energy security, India and Australia shared “deep concern” over the consequences of the conflict for energy, resources and other commodity supply chains and prices. The statement reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining stable energy trade, strengthening supply-chain resilience and accelerating the energy transition.The senior Indian diplomat noted that the bilateral relationship had entered a new phase after six years of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. “In many areas, strategic convergence has accelerated,” he said, pointing to progress across trade, defence, energy, education and technology.Reading the Indo-Pacific fine printAt the briefing, Misri singled out the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation and the India-Australia Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap as “one of the key outcomes” of the summit.He said the documents recognised “that the partnership must evolve to meet changing strategic circumstances” and reflected “a commitment to advancing our defence and security partnership”.The declaration replaces the 2009 security declaration and commits both countries to annual defence ministers’ dialogues, consultations on Indo-Pacific developments affecting shared interests, more complex military exercises, greater interoperability, expanded aircraft deployments and closer cooperation in defence science, technology and industry.Albanese described India as “a top-tier security partner”, saying the declaration reflected the two countries’ shared commitment to “a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region”.Echoing his host, Modi said the new arrangements would strengthen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. “In the area of maritime security collaboration, our efforts in the Indo-Pacific will gain new strength. We will move forward in shipbuilding, ship repair and maintenance,” he said.The summit also launched the Australia-India Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies and Supply Chains, replacing the 2020 cyber cooperation framework with a broader mechanism covering cyber security, critical and emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, trusted supply chains, semiconductors, digital resilience and defence research.The two leaders also reaffirmed the importance of the Quad, but the Australian statement made no reference to convening a leaders’ summit. File photo via X/@narendramodi.The joint statement also reaffirmed support for “a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific”, stressing freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and opposing “any destabilising or unilateral action to change the status quo and undermine regional peace and stability”.Unlike the first annual summit statement in 2023, however, this year’s document made no explicit reference to the South China Sea. The reference had also been omitted from the 2024 summit statement, suggesting that while both governments have retained familiar language on UNCLOS, freedom of navigation and opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo, they have continued to avoid identifying the South China Sea specifically in their annual leaders’ communiques.China nevertheless figured in the leaders’ discussions. Asked whether Beijing’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch into the south Pacific had come up during the summit, Misri confirmed that Albanese had raised the issue with Modi.According to Misri, Australia expressed concern over the launch, while Modi reiterated that India regarded the Indo-Pacific as “an area where we would like to see peace and security and stability”. India and Australia had “shared interests and shared objectives” in the region, he said, and would continue “to exchange our perspectives on this” and “intensify our cooperation” to preserve regional stability.The two leaders also reaffirmed the importance of the Quad, with the joint statement describing it as “a partnership that delivers practical and concrete outcomes for the Indo-Pacific” and welcoming the outcomes of the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi in May. Unlike the India-Japan summit statement issued last week, however, the Australian statement made no reference to convening a Quad leaders’ summit.Modi said the two countries had decided to move quickly towards concluding a “balanced, ambitious and win-win” Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and to advance negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty. Misri said the two leaders had instructed officials to conclude the CECA “at the earliest possible” time.Addressing business leaders before the summit, Albanese said Australia wanted its “business, ideas and expertise to help build and power and shape” India’s economic rise. He announced that the Business Council of Australia would lead a senior business delegation to India during Australia Week later this year, while Austrade and the Australian high commission in New Delhi would convene a new investment roundtable in Mumbai.Albanese also confirmed a refreshed memorandum of understanding between Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of India on critical minerals.The Indian PM argued that geopolitical uncertainty had strengthened the case for closer commercial ties. “Today the world is passing through a period of uncertainty, supply chain disruption and energy crisis. At such a time, it is natural and necessary for India and Australia to move forward as natural and trusted partners,” he said.The summit also broadened cooperation in science, technology and education. Albanese announced that Australia and India would commission a temporary space tracking terminal on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to support India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, while the two countries also welcomed a trilateral technology partnership with Canada covering critical and emerging technologies.The two leaders later wrapped up the day with around 25,000 members of the Indian diaspora at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.