New Delhi: Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described India-Australia ties as being in a “golden age”, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal commitment for driving the relationship across defence, trade, energy, critical minerals and people-to-people links.
Speaking exclusively to NewsX during Modi’s three-day visit to Australia, Morrison said his meeting with the Indian Prime Minister in Melbourne was “warm” and reflected the continuity of a relationship built over the past decade.
“It was good to see him again so soon after our last get-together, and it was great to have him back in Australia,” Morrison said, recalling that he had first met Modi a decade ago at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when he was Australia’s immigration minister.
Morrison said the two leaders reflected on the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the India-Australia trade agreement, defence cooperation and their joint role in strengthening the Quad Leaders’ Dialogue.
He said the relationship had continued to consolidate, pointing to fresh announcements on uranium sales and additional AustralianSuper investment in India’s infrastructure investment fund.
On the Indian diaspora, Morrison said the community had played a major role in strengthening ties. He described Indian-origin Australians as skilled, entrepreneurial, educated and family-oriented, with a strong respect for democracy and the rule of law.
“The people-to-people ties, the cricket and the curry — you can’t go past that,” he said, adding that his conversation with Modi also included a light-hearted reference to the “samosas” he had once cooked for the Indian Prime Minister.
Referring to Modi’s cricket analogy that the relationship should combine the focus of ODIs, the speed of T20 and the endurance of Test cricket, Morrison said the partnership was entering a durable phase.
“We are in a real golden age of this relationship, and I can see it only continuing and broadening, so long as trust continues to be respected,” he said.
On the defence pact unveiled during Modi’s visit, Morrison said it built on earlier gains, including the revival of the Malabar exercises during his tenure. He said deeper defence coordination, intelligence sharing and joint exercises would help both countries respond to regional challenges and maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Calling the uranium arrangement an important step, Morrison said it showed Australian uranium sales to India now had bipartisan backing. He said the pact also reflected Modi’s leadership in identifying nuclear energy as a key part of India’s future energy security.
“Nuclear is lower-emissions and reliable power. It can support the industries Prime Minister Modi wants to see successful in India,” Morrison said, adding that Australia too could learn from India’s approach.
On climate and energy, Morrison praised India’s push for affordable and scalable clean-energy technologies for developing economies. He said imposing climate expectations on developing nations without affordable solutions amounted to “climate colonialism”.
Morrison also called India and Australia natural partners on critical minerals, saying Australia had the resources while India had the scale to build a processing ecosystem that could challenge China’s dominance in rare earths.
On the Quad, Morrison said the delay in holding a leaders’ summit was “frustrating” but should not be over-read. He said the grouping remained vital for maritime security, energy security, resilient infrastructure and private capital-led growth across the Indo-Pacific.
Backing an early India-Australia free trade agreement, Morrison said it had to be a “good deal” for both sides, with sensitive issues such as people movement, immigration and agriculture handled carefully.
Asked about Modi’s role in the partnership, Morrison said the Indian Prime Minister had been the “common denominator of commitment” across successive Australian governments.
“He truly understands India’s leadership role in the Indo-Pacific and the people-to-people links between Australia and India,” Morrison said. “He has shown the patience of a Test match captain.”
On artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, Morrison said India’s scale gave it a major advantage in data centres, semiconductors and AI adoption, while Australia offered secure infrastructure and shared democratic values on regulation.
He said both countries should work together to manage AI risks without blocking innovation, adding that avoiding risk altogether could deny people “extraordinary prosperity”.
