India and Australia clinched an ambitious renewable energy partnership and set their eyes on a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese vowed to ramp up overall bilateral ties significantly. The two leaders welcomed the partnership, which aims to boost bilateral investment in renewable energy sectors, on Tuesday at the annual G20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro.
Albanese said in a meeting that Australia and India would also look to enhance defense and maritime security cooperation. He also said that this partnership will include a rooftop solar workforce as India seeks to boost household use of renewables. Australia is the largest producer of per capita rooftop solar.
In his speech Prime Minister Modi said that they were exploring new cooperation on defence industry, critical minerals, renewable energy, ship building, space, according to the transcript.
Australia has rich copper, vanadium, cobalt, and lithium deposits used in electric vehicle batteries. The partnership is a significant milestone in India-Australia cooperation and will guide our climate and energy cooperation. Australia is committed to working with India to seize the economic opportunities of the net zero transition. Our new renewable energy partnership will translate this aspiration into reality.
