PM Modi's Australia visit: India, Australia deepen strategic ties with defence, uranium, critical minerals and trade agreements; here are the key highlights

Prime Minister PM Narendra Modi on Friday departed for New Zealand after concluding a threeday visit to Australia during which India and Australia significantly expanded their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with a series of agreements covering defence maritime security civil nuclear energy critical minerals cyber technologies trade sports and peopletopeople tiesThe visit culminated in the third AustraliaIndia Annual Leaders Summit in Melbourne where PM Modi held bilateral talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony AlbaneseIndia Australia deepen defence and civil nuclear cooperationA key outcome of the summit was the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation JDDSC replacing the 2009 bilateral security framework along with the IndiaAustralia Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap aimed at strengthening defence cooperation and strategic coordination in the IndoPacificThe two countries also finalised the administrative arrangements required to operationalise the 2015 AustraliaIndia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement paving the way for Australian uranium exports to India exclusively for peaceful International Atomic Energy Agency IAEAsafeguarded civil nuclear energy programmesWe have signed an important agreement today on nuclear energy This will pave the way for uranium supplies from Australia to India and give our clean energy objectives fresh momentum PM Modi said after the summitAlbanese described India as a toptier security partner and said the agreement would enable uranium exports to India for peaceful purposes while supporting its clean energy transitionDefence innovation cultural cooperation and critical minerals in focusThe leaders also announced the launch of the IndiaAustralia Defence Innovation Corridor to connect defence startups and industries besides unveiling a new partnership on cyber critical technologies and supply chains They also agreed to work together on a critical minerals corridorThe summit also marked progress in cultural cooperation with the two leaders welcoming the voluntary return to India of three culturally significant artefacts of Tamil Nadu origin currently held by Australian institutions The artefacts include an 11th12th century stone sculpture of the sacred Nandi an 11thcentury metal trident bearing the image of Goddess Bhadrakali and a 12thcentury sixheaded stone sculpture of Lord Karthikeya The two sides also welcomed progress on the return of an Australian First Nations ancestor currently held at the Government Museum in Chennai to its Traditional Custodians in AustraliaEconomic cooperation featured prominently during the visit with PM Modi urging Australian businesses to invest in Indias infrastructure aviation financial services technology food processing and critical minerals sectors He also called for an early conclusion of the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement CECAAustralias largest pension fund AustralianSuper announced an additional investment of AUD 500 million in Indias National Investment and Infrastructure Fund NIIFThe two countries also unveiled an IndiaAustralia Sports Collaboration Roadmap to expand cooperation in sports training sports science technology and investment As part of the initiative the opening match of the upcoming Big Bash League season will be played at Chennais MA Chidambaram Stadium marking the first time a foreign cricket league match will be staged in IndiaDuring his visit PM Modi also addressed the AustraliaIndia CEO Forum interacted with business leaders met GovernorGeneral Sam Mostyn Victoria Governor Margaret Gardner AC and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and addressed a large gathering of the Indian diaspora in MelbournePM Modi thanks Australia as visit concludesAs my Australia visit concludes I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Government and people of Australia as well as to PM Albanese for their warmth The outcomes of this visit have further strengthened our partnership and opened new avenues for cooperation across diverse sectors The momentum in the times to come will benefit our nation and the entire planet PM Modi said in a post on X as he concluded his threeday visitThe Ministry of External Affairs said the visit had further strengthened the IndiaAustralia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and opened new avenues for collaboration across defence economic engagement education sports and community tiesPM Modi departs for New Zealand for final leg of threenation tourModi has now departed for Auckland where he will hold talks with New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon as part of the final leg of his threenation tourWith inputs from AFP IANS PTI and ANI