India and Australia plan to pursue an expanded strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia, with energy arrangements including uranium supply under consideration alongside deeper defence and economic cooperation. Officials indicated that energy, defence industrial ties and maritime security will feature prominently on the agenda. The outreach reflects an effort to translate earlier dialogues into concrete agreements.

Both sides are set to renew and upgrade the 2009 Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation and to finalise a Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap intended for white shipping. White shipping information describes the exchange of advanced data on the identity and movements of commercial non-military merchant vessels and is intended to improve shared maritime domain awareness. The roadmap is presented as a vehicle to standardise information sharing and operational coordination.

The two countries have increased maritime engagement since the 2021 Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, which enabled greater interoperability through joint exercises, strategic dialogues and training. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Australian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, co-chaired the second India-Australia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in June, where they discussed advances in bilateral maritime security cooperation. They also discussed collaboration on maritime patrol aircraft operations and options to strengthen undersea domain awareness.

Officials said a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Provision of Defence Articles and Defence Services is being worked out as the next step in deepening defence industrial collaboration. Australia’s first defence trade mission visited India in October last year and the Australia-India Defence Industry Roundtable was convened, signalling growing commercial links. There is a possibility of establishing a joint working group on defence industry research and materiel to support sustained cooperation. The talks are positioned to broaden interoperability, industrial ties and strategic coordination between the two countries.