India and Australia’s bilateral relationship has evolved from historical trade links into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, marked by sustained high-level political engagement, expanding strategic cooperation and growing people-to-people ties.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the relationship dates back to the European settlement of Australia in 1788, when trade with the penal colony of New South Wales was conducted through the British East India Company via Kolkata. Diplomatic relations between the two countries began in the pre-Independence period with the establishment of the India Trade Office in Sydney in 1941.
The two countries elevated their relationship from a Strategic Partnership, established in 2009, to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in 2020. The MEA said the partnership is underpinned by shared democratic values, Commonwealth traditions, expanding economic engagement and increasing high-level interactions. People-to-people ties, including educational exchanges, tourism and sporting links, have also played a significant role in strengthening bilateral relations.
According to the ministry, India-Australia relations received a significant boost with the first-ever visit by an Indian President to Australia in November 2018, when President Ram Nath Kovind travelled to the country. The visit followed that of then Australian Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove to India earlier that year to attend the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited India in September 2014. Later that year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Australia after attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane. During the visit, he held bilateral talks with Mr. Abbott and addressed a joint sitting of both Houses of the Australian Parliament, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to do so.
A virtual summit between Prime Minister Modi and then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in June 2020 elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During another virtual meeting in March 2022, the two leaders agreed to institutionalise Annual Summits.
Since 2022, Prime Minister Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have met on several occasions, including on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo, the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the G20 Summit in Bali, the ASEAN Summit in Laos, the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada.
Prime Minister Albanese’s State Visit to India in March 2023 marked the first India-Australia Annual Summit. According to the MEA, the two sides concluded an Audio-Visual Co-production Agreement, adopted the Terms of Reference for the India-Australia Solar Taskforce and signed a Letter of Intent between the Atal Innovation Mission and Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to strengthen cooperation in innovation.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Sydney in May 2023 further expanded bilateral cooperation. The two countries signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA), agreed on the Terms of Reference for a Green Hydrogen Taskforce, announced the opening of a new Consulate General of India in Brisbane and an Australian Consulate General in Bengaluru, and unveiled initiatives aimed at strengthening community engagement. During the visit, the two Prime Ministers laid the foundation stone for the Little India Gateway in Harris Park, Parramatta. Nelson Avenue in Perth was renamed Sailani Avenue in honour of Private Nain Singh Sailani, while the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge were illuminated in the colours of the Indian tricolour.
Prime Minister Albanese visited India again in September 2023 to participate in the G20 Summit and also joined the virtual G20 Summit in November that year. According to the ministry, the two leaders remained in regular contact through telephone conversations in 2024 and 2025, including after Prime Minister Modi began his third term, following the Pahalgam terror attack, and after Mr. Albanese secured re-election.
At the second India-Australia Annual Summit, held on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024, the two leaders welcomed the launch of the India-Australia Renewable Energy Partnership.
The MEA said strategic cooperation has also expanded through institutional mechanisms such as the 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue. The inaugural dialogue was held in New Delhi in September 2021, followed by the second edition in November 2023. Inter-sessional consultations between the Foreign and Defence Secretaries were held in New Delhi in October 2024.
According to the ministry, the annual Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue remains the principal mechanism for advancing the bilateral agenda. The 13th edition was held in Canberra in October 2022, the 14th in New Delhi in November 2023 during Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s visit for the 2+2 Dialogue, and the 15th in Australia in November 2024 during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit.
