Former Australian PM Scott Morrison said that India can become a processing powerhouse of critical minerals. He supported the India-Australia partnership, saying it would reduce global dependence on China, which has misused its influence.
sydney [ऑस्ट्रेलिया]July 9 (ANI): Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday supported the proposed India-Australia Critical Minerals Corridor. He emphasized that India is uniquely positioned to develop as a global processing hub for rare earths and essential minerals.
Speaking exclusively to ANI after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Morrison outlined a complementary model for this partnership: Australia’s role as a leader in mining and India’s potential as a manufacturing and refining powerhouse.
India will become a powerhouse of critical minerals
Morrison said, “I’ve always been a firm believer that India is well-positioned to do a lot of the processing of these critical minerals. Australia is excellent and has a lot of critical mineral resources and is very advanced on the mining side of this business, but the cost of refining those critical minerals can be very high. I think in India, they’ve always had the opportunity to create an ecosystem similar to the one they have in China, where they can be a real resource for the world.” “Can be a critical minerals processing powerhouse.”
Strategy to reduce dependence on China
Morrison argued that the initiative was an important step towards reducing global dependence on China, which he said had “weaponized” its dominance in the region. “Given the way China has leveraged, and in some cases even weaponized, its hold on the processing of rare earths and critical minerals, all countries, whether it is India, Australia, the United States, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom or Europe, need to find ways in which they can create alternative supply chains so that they are not effectively held hostage to these things,” he said.
Major partnerships between India and Australia
India and Australia are collaborating deeply to secure supply chains for lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements. Through the India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership, both countries are accelerating five targeted mining projects to reduce global dependence on China and accelerate India’s renewable energy and EV manufacturing. The India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership specifically focuses on two lithium and three cobalt projects in Australia to ensure availability of raw materials for India’s clean energy goals.
Through the AUD 12.2 million India-Australia Critical Minerals Research Partnership, institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and Monash University are advancing mineral extraction and processing methods. Under the Australia-India ECTA, tariff reductions have integrated Australia’s mining equipment and services sector with India’s industrial development. This framework is reinforced by the broader Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework (with Japan and the US), which aims to mobilize up to $20 billion of public and private capital to secure mineral supply chains.
Expansion of strategic partnership
While optimistic, the former PM stressed that the success of the initiative depends on concrete results. “The evidence of these things will be how much work actually gets done, how many companies are built, how many refineries are built, and how much processed critical minerals are actually being delivered into manufacturing supply chains,” he said.
Morrison described the latest round of bilateral agreements covering cybersecurity, critical technologies and space cooperation as a “natural outcome” of the broader strategic partnership he had helped foster during his tenure. He said, “Highlighting all these areas of cooperation is exactly what the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was designed to deliver. I would call all of these implementation phase agreements, which is a natural consequence of being able to get the relationship to the level that we were able to achieve.”
An extraordinary development announced during the summit is the establishment of a floating space tracking terminal on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to support India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. Reflecting on India’s progress in the space sector, Morrison said, “I will never forget when India was able to land on the moon [चंद्रयान-3]. I will never forget that look on Prime Minister Modi’s face. He was thrilled by his nation’s achievement, and it spoke volumes about India’s advanced space capabilities.”
The former leader’s comments underline the growing cross-party consensus in Australia regarding the strategic need to integrate the Indian manufacturing sector into global supply chains to ensure regional stability and economic resilience. (ANI)
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