Australia and India Sign Landmark Uranium Export Deal During Modi's Visit

Jul 9, 2026

During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Melbourne on July 9, 2026, India and Australia sign a landmark administrative arrangement enabling long-term exports of Australian uranium to India for peaceful energy generation. The deal resolves a long-standing stalemate over India's non-signatory status to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The leaders also pledge enhanced defense ties and space cooperation, while back in India, severe monsoon rains trigger deadly landslides and building collapses.

Australia-India uranium export agreement

▪Australia holds approximately 28 percent of the world's known uranium resources but does not use nuclear power or weapons domestically.
▪Australia and India signed a nuclear cooperation pact in 2014, but actual uranium exports were stalled due to concerns over weapons use.
▪Australian uranium exports to India will be used exclusively for peaceful purposes under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
▪Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed an administrative arrangement on July 9, 2026, enabling long-term Australian uranium exports to India.

India's nuclear energy expansion goals

▪India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which historically led Australia to refuse uranium sales to the country.
▪India has doubled its installed nuclear power capacity over the last decade, though it still accounts for only 3 percent of the country's electricity.
▪India aims to install 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2047 to increase its share of non-fossil fuel power.

Modi-Albanese summit outcomes

▪Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese pledged to accelerate an advanced, integrated, and top-tier defense and security partnership in the Indo-Pacific region.
▪India and Australia agreed to build a temporary space tracking terminal on Australia's Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean.
▪Australian pension fund AustralianSuper announced an additional investment of 500 million Australian dollars into India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.

Indian diaspora event in Melbourne

▪Protesters gathered outside the Melbourne diaspora event, with some calling for the expulsion of Indians and others protesting minority persecution in India.
▪Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese addressed a large community event of Indian expatriates in Melbourne on July 9, 2026.

Monsoon disasters across India

▪A three-story building collapsed at a waste-to-energy plant in Pune, Maharashtra, after a massive garbage mound crashed on it, trapping at least 17 people.
▪Heavy monsoon rains in India triggered a landslide at a tunnel project construction site in Wayanad, Kerala, killing five people.
▪A building collapse in New Delhi amid heavy rainfall killed three people, prompting the Delhi government to work on tackling waterlogging.