India, Australia seal nuclear deal, focus on security ties

In a defining step that has decisively transformed India-Australian ties, the two countries have signed a landmark nuclear deal that clears the decks for the import of Australian uranium to the energy-deficient Asian economy and bring them in a closer strategic embrace.

The long-awaited nuclear deal was signed in the presence of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott, the first foreign leader hosted by the 100-day old new government in New Delhi on a standalone bilateral visit.

A beaming Modi hailed the agreement as a historic milestone and can count it as a diplomatic gift as India gears up to scale up the share of atomic electricity in its overall energy mix.

“It is a reflection of a new level of mutual trust and confidence in our relationship and will open a new chapter in our bilateral cooperation. It will support India’s efforts to fuel its growth with clean energy and minimize the carbon footprint of its growth,” the prime minister said at a joint media interaction with Mr Abbott in New Delhi on September 5.

“We signed a nuclear cooperation agreement because Australia trusts India to do the right thing in this area, as it has been doing in other areas,” Abbott said. “That is why we are happy to trust India with our uranium in months, years and decades.”

The India-Australia nuclear rapprochement traversed many twists and turns in the last two years, but the talks moved onto a positive trajectory after Canberra lifted a long-standing ban on selling uranium to New Delhi in 2012.

The deal is poised to deepen strategic partnership, which are located thousands of miles away, but share robust liberal democratic values and are members of a host of multilateral bodies, including the G20 and the East Asia Summit.

Another takeaway from the summit meeting between the leaders of India and Australia is the deepening of defence and security cooperation between the two countries, an emerging feature of bilateral ties in the last few years.

“Regular and robust dialogue provides a strong foundation for a strong strategic partnership. Prime Minister Abbott and I have decided to enhance our political dialogue and increase our security and defence cooperation, to which we attach great importance in our relationship,” said Mr Modi.

Mr Abbott began his two-day trip to India from Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, and serenaded India’s growing global stature and its importance to Australia’s future. “The purpose of this trip, as far as I’m concerned, is to acknowledge the importance of India in the wider world, acknowledge the importance of India to Australia’s future,” said Abbot in a meeting with business leaders in Mumbai on September 4. “There is an abundance of opportunities here in India. I am determined to make the most of them,” he said on an upbeat note.

With the nuclear deal sealed, it will be easier for Canberra to leverage the mine of new opportunities emerging in India.

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