Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Anthony Albanese in Melbourne on Thursday for the Australia-India Annual Leaders' Summit, before addressing a Marvel Stadium reception with more than 20,000 people registered to attend. Modi arrived from Indonesia on Wednesday evening, the second stop on a three-nation tour that ends in New Zealand after he departs on Friday.
It is Modi's third visit to Australia as prime minister, after trips in 2014 and 2023, and the leaders' first meeting since the G20 in Johannesburg last November. "I am honoured to welcome my friend Prime Minister Modi to Australia for our Annual Leaders' Summit," Albanese said when the visit was announced on July 4. Modi, in his departure statement, said he would take forward relations in "defence and security, trade and investments, education and mobility and people-to-people ties."
The working agenda runs across defence, trade and critical minerals. A renewal of the 2009 Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation is expected, carrying through a commitment from June's defence ministers' dialogue, along with a maritime security roadmap. Negotiations on the full free trade agreement, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, remain unfinished four years after the interim deal, with agriculture access still the sticking point.
The material question is uranium. Australia holds about 28 per cent of the world's uranium resources, and a civil nuclear cooperation agreement has been in place since 2014, yet exports to India have been close to nil. Indian government-aligned outlets report a commercial supply agreement is near; neither government has confirmed one. "Uranium has always been a hot topic between Australia and India. Historically, India has been asking to have Australia ship it to India. But is Australia willing to do that?" said Teesta Prakash of the Australia India Institute. Pradeep Taneja, who follows the relationship at the University of Melbourne, said he did not expect "any big bang announcements during this visit."
The stadium event, billed as Melbourne Meets Modi, opens its gates at 3:30pm, with organisers reporting about 26,000 registrations and wire services putting expected attendance above 20,000. Albanese and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan are reported to be attending. Modi filled Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena in 2023, where Albanese introduced him as "the Boss".
Not everyone outside the stadium will be cheering. The Alliance Against Islamophobia has organised a protest over the treatment of religious minorities in India, and a separate anti-immigration march is planned from the Department of Home Affairs office in Docklands. Amnesty International Australia used the eve of the summit to ask that human rights sit inside the dialogue rather than around it, citing the detention of journalists under India's Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and restrictions on civic space in Kashmir.
What the summit actually produces (on uranium, on defence, on the trade deal) is due before Modi leaves for New Zealand on Friday. Until the joint statement lands, the announcements are expectations, and the expectations are being managed down.
