India and Australia elevate Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during 3rd Annual Summit in Melbourne

Key facts

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held the 3rd India-Australia Annual Summit in Melbourne on 9 July.
• A new Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation was issued, establishing an Annual Defence Ministers’ Dialogue and an India-Australia Defence Innovation Corridor.
• The Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap was unveiled alongside an MoU between the Indian Coast Guard and Australia’s Maritime Border Command.
• The 2014 Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was operationalised to enable Australian uranium supply for India's 100 GW nuclear power target by 2047.
• The Australia-India Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies and Supply Chains (PACTS) was launched to cover AI, semiconductors, and space technologies.
• Flinders University and Victoria University received approvals to establish campuses in Bengaluru and Gurugram respectively.
• A Centre of Excellence in Mining Equipment, Technology and Services will be established at the National Skill Training Institute in Bhubaneswar.
• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Geoscience Australia signed an MoU, while the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) partnered with the University of Melbourne.
• A Rooftop Solar Training Academy was operationalised at Pandit Deendayal Energy University in Gandhinagar to train 2,000 solar technicians.
• Australia returned three 11th-12th century antiquities from Tamil Nadu, including a granite Nandi, a bronze trident of Bhadrakali, and a stone Karttikeya.