Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg to review and strengthen the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which marks its fifth anniversary in 2024.

During the talks, they highlighted the transformative outcomes in their cooperation across various sectors since the partnership’s elevation in 2020, underscoring its steady expansion and resilience.

The leaders identified three key sectors with immense potential for deeper collaboration: defence and security, nuclear energy, and trade. They expressed satisfaction with the deepening and diversification of cooperation in these areas.

Additionally, they discussed other sectors including education, cultural exchanges, and enhanced people-to-people linkages, aiming to broaden the scope of bilateral engagement.

Prime Minister Modi emphasised the importance of defence and security cooperation, reaffirming the wide-ranging collaboration between the two countries. Recent defence initiatives include joint exercises, information sharing, mutual submarine rescue arrangements, and expanding interoperability across all military domains.

Australia also welcomed India’s participation in major exercises like Talisman Sabre and Malabar, reflecting a growing strategic convergence among partners. Both sides committed to enhancing annual defence dialogue, sharing best practices in emerging domains such as missile defence, unmanned aerial systems, and special operations.

In the sphere of nuclear energy, the cooperation builds on the 2014 Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement that permits uranium exports from Australia to India, supporting India’s peaceful nuclear energy needs. The collaboration underpins broader energy security and trade opportunities between the countries, with substantial exchange potential in critical minerals and clean energy technologies.

Trade and investment were central themes, with a focus on leveraging the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) implemented since late 2022. This agreement has facilitated significant tariff reductions and expanded business opportunities, driving bilateral trade growth in sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agriculture, and emerging industrial exports. 

Australia notably supports India’s industrial growth by supplying essential raw materials, while both countries focus on new export categories and future growth sectors like clean energy, education, agribusiness, and tourism.

The bilateral meeting also included discussions on global and regional developments of mutual interest, reinforcing their shared commitment to counter-terrorism efforts, solidarity on recent terror attacks, and cooperation on strategic and geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The two leaders agreed that frequent high-level exchanges have greatly accelerated bilateral progress and that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has laid a robust foundation for expanded collaboration. They renewed their commitment to further elevate the partnership, aiming for stronger ties and more expansive cooperation in the coming years.

The India-Australia partnership is entering a new phase of strategic depth, marked by enhanced defence ties, nuclear energy collaboration, and trade growth, supported by evolving frameworks for political, educational, cultural, and technological cooperation.

This growing alliance is positioned to make significant contributions to regional stability, economic prosperity, and shared global challenges.​​

Based On IANS Report