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India, Australia sign MoU on civil nuclear agreement

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ANI New Delhi
Last Updated : Sep 05 2014 | 9:55 PM IST

India and Australia today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on civil nuclear agreement, allowing Australia to sell uranium to India.

"The signing of civil nuclear agreement is a historic milestone; it will open a new chapter in our bilateral cooperation," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Talking about the upcoming G-20 leaders' summit in Brisbane, Prime Minister Modi added, "I will pay a bilateral visit to Australia after the G20 summit. We have decided to enhance dialogue and also increase security and defence cooperation. We will strengthen the economic relationship between India and Australia. We welcome investment from Australia as well. Increase in youth exchanges will deepen mutual understanding and increase friendship between the two nations. I am keenly looking forward to the G20 summit."

He further said, "We consider Australia a very important strategic partner and wish to deepen our relation. Australia can make important contributions to India's development. We thank PM Abbott for bringing back the rare artifacts that were stolen from India. I am very satisfied with our meeting today. I am confident that Australia will emerge as a strong strategic partner for India, a very important part of our Look East Policy."

Expressing happiness for signing the MoU, Abbot said, "We signed the nuclear agreement as Australia trusts India to do the right thing in this area as it has done in every area. There is hardly any country on this planet that has been a citizen like India, we are happy to trust India with our uranium.

"Prime Minister Modi and I plan to be the "infrastructure Prime Ministers", he added.

Abbott, who is on a two day visit to India, also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj earlier in the day, prior to which he received a Guard of Honour at the President's House. He also paid a tribute at the 'Amar Jawan Jyoti' in New Delhi.

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First Published: Sep 05 2014 | 9:40 PM IST

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