India and Australia have operationalized their civil nuclear cooperation agreement, paving the way for commercial supplies of Australian uranium to fuel Indian reactors. The deal was formalized at the Australia-India Annual Leaders’ Summit in Melbourne, held from July 8 to 10, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Anthony Albanese signed 18 agreements in total, including a defence pact and the civil nuclear memorandum.
The nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries had originally been signed in 2014 but remained largely unimplemented for over a decade. It is now being put into effect, partly thanks to the regulatory framework provided by the SHANTI Act — India’s nuclear sector reform legislation, which removed supplier liability provisions that had long deterred foreign investment. During the joint statement, Modi described the deal as “an important agreement in the field of nuclear energy” that will open the door to Australian uranium supplies for India.
For New Delhi, the fuel supply question is far from a secondary concern. India currently imports roughly three quarters of its civilian uranium requirements, as domestic reserves are dwindling. Diversifying its supply base has become an established pillar of the country’s long-term energy strategy: beyond Australia, India has active supply agreements with Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia, France and Uzbekistan. Canada’s Cameco recently signed a contract worth approximately $1.9 billion to deliver nearly 22 million pounds of uranium concentrate between 2027 and 2035. Kazakhstan, through Kazatomprom, is party to a deal valued at over $4 billion. Australia now joins this portfolio, bringing some of the world’s largest uranium reserves to the table.
The diplomatic backdrop to the agreement is the Quad, the strategic grouping that brings together India, Australia, the United States and Japan. In Manila, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar held successive meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio — discussing priorities under the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, spanning trade, defence and critical minerals — and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, to review the outcomes of the Melbourne summit. Earlier in the day he also met his Philippine counterpart, Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, with whom he reviewed bilateral cooperation and Indo-Pacific developments.
India’s ambition is to bring its installed nuclear capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047. The country currently operates 24 reactors. Reaching that target requires a stable and diversified fuel base: each new supply agreement adds a concrete piece to this puzzle. Civil nuclear energy — including SMRs, which the Philippines is also beginning to explore with US support — is emerging as a practical area of cooperation among Indo-Pacific powers, well beyond declarations of intent. The deal with Australia, a dozen years in the making, shows that nuclear diplomacy moves slowly. But when it delivers, the results are tangible.
