Blitz Bureau
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Melbourne today, the second leg of a three-nation tour that is knitting India more tightly into the Indo-Pacific. The visit runs from Indonesia through Australia to New Zealand, and in each capital the agenda is the same practical mix — defence, critical minerals, clean energy and supply chains — that India’s growth increasingly depends on.
The Jakarta leg set the tone. Over three days, India and Indonesia exchanged more than a dozen agreements spanning maritime security, defence, space, steel supply chains, rare earths, healthcare, agriculture and science, capped by a landmark deal for Jakarta to acquire India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles — making Indonesia the third export customer for the system after the Philippines and Vietnam. President Prabowo Subianto conferred Indonesia’s highest honour, the Bintang Adipurna, on the visiting Prime Minister.
One tour stitching together defence, critical minerals and clean energy shows India building the Indo-Pacific partnerships its growth will lean on.
At a Glance
- Tour: Indonesia (Jul 6–8) → Australia (Jul 8–10) → New Zealand
- Indonesia: 12+ pacts; BrahMos deal (3rd export buyer)
- Australia: uranium supply & critical minerals in focus
- New Zealand: first Indian PM visit in nearly four decades
In Melbourne, the Australia–India Annual Leaders’ Summit hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to advance a commercial uranium supply agreement — operationalising a framework first set out in 2014 — alongside cooperation on critical minerals, clean energy, cybersecurity and resilient supply chains. The final leg carries Mr Modi to New Zealand, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister there in close to forty years, reopening a relationship with fresh room to grow.
The constructive measure of the trip will be delivery: converting signed frameworks into shipments, joint ventures and jobs. Anchored in the government’s Act East policy and its MAHASAGAR vision for the maritime neighbourhood, the tour positions India as a dependable partner across the region — and the task now is to turn a full itinerary into durable, working arrangements that outlast the handshakes.
