Seeking to boost trade and security ties between in India and Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting counterpart Malcolm Turnbull signed six agreements, including one for expanding counter-terrorism cooperation. “We had a very good discussion about Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and I think it's fair to say that progress has not been as fast as either of us would like it to be,” Turnbull said after the meeting.
Discussions also circled the topic of energy, with Turnbull saying that Australia is ready to supply uranium to India as soon as possible. Both the countries had signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement three years ago, however, the actual supply is yet to be commenced. “We are working closely with India to meet our respective requirements for the provision of fuel for India's civil nuclear programme,” he said. Meanwhile, Modi said the guest country is now ready to export uranium to India with the passage of a legislation in the Australian Parliament with bi-partisan support.
Turnbull noted Australia's strong support for India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, during talks. In a bid to deepen maritime cooperation, both sides recognised that India and Australia share common interests in ensuring maritime security and safety of sea lines of communication.
A joint statement was released following talks, and both the leaders reiterated their support for continued bilateral nuclear cooperation and that they anticipated commercial export of Australian uranium to India could begin soon. “Both leaders recognised the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, as well as resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” the statement read.
“The two Prime Ministers highlighted their shared desire to ensure that Indian Ocean architecture keeps pace with regional issues and addresses emerging threats and challenges in the region,” it read. Modi and Turnbull agreed that the bilateral maritime exercise first held in the Bay of Bengal in 2015, will be repeated off Western Australia in the first half of 2018.
“They also welcomed a decision for the first bilateral Army-to-Army exercise to take place in 2018. They looked forward to the inaugural secretaries' defence and foreign affairs dialogue in the '2+2' format as a new mechanism to build on the deep strategic partnership.”
PM Modi and Turnbull also visited Swaminarayan Akshardham where they paid respects to Bhagwan Swaminarayan. They saw the Gajendra Pithika outside the main mandir, and offered abhishek to Nilkanth Varni, and prayed for world peace and for cordial bilateral relations between both the countries. Turnbull was informed about the environment-friendly aspects of Akshardham, and how the entire 100 acre cultural complex was inspired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj.