India, Australia Sealed Uranium Exports Pact Amid PM Modi Visit
On Thursday, July 9, India and Australia sealed a Uranium exports pact as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that both nations have officially cleared the path for the export of Uranium to India. Notably, this ultimate move was followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Australia. Albanese addressed a joint presser with PM Modi and recognised this move as a major milestone in bilateral energy and strategic cooperation between the two nations following the 2015 Australia-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.
What did the Australian PM say about uranium exports to India?
He stated: “Today, we can confirm the signing of the arrangement to enable uranium exports to India for peaceful purposes under the 2015 Australia- India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.”
As per the released joint statement, the two nations have sealed the administrative arrangements necessary to allow the export of Australian uranium to India for exclusively peaceful purposes and under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, as provided for under the Australia-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (2015).
What did the statement on uranium exports to India indicate?
Moreover, the statement added that Australia and India are committed to working together to boost energy supply chain resilience, including through deepening regional cooperation, accelerating the energy transition, promoting the uptake of renewable energy resources and upholding open trade arrangements for energy and liquid fuels. Notably, Australia has nearly 28 per cent of the world’s uranium resources; however, it doesn’t use any nuclear power or weapons, and exports all of it. On the contrary, India wants to install 100 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2047 to power 60 million Indian homes, and the country has a population of 1.4 billion. During the previous decade, India has managed to double its installed nuclear power, but it continues to constitute just 3 per cent of its electricity supply, as sourcing uranium has proven to be a complex task.
