Australia agrees to export uranium to India for civilian nuclear power
India and Australia signed a nuclear cooperation agreement clearing the way for Australian uranium exports to India for civilian energy generation, sealed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese in Melbourne during Modi’s state visit. The shipments are designated for peaceful use only and subject to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
The deal expands a 2014 framework under which Australia — holder of roughly 28% of the world’s known uranium reserves — had kept shipments to India limited over proliferation concerns, given that India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. New Delhi is targeting 100 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2047, and secure fuel supply is a bottleneck for that build-out. “This will pave the way for uranium supplies from Australia to India and give our clean energy objectives fresh momentum,” Modi said.
For Canberra, the agreement is as much strategic as commercial: both governments are working to diversify trade and security ties amid friction with China. Two-way trade reached about $37.7 billion in 2024-2025, with India now Australia’s fifth-largest trading partner.