PM Modi announces trilateral technology, partnership with Australia, Canada

A new trilateral technology and innovation partnership between India, Australia and Canada was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday after a meeting with his Australian and Canadian counterparts on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit here.

We are delighted to announce an Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership today, Modi said in a social media post after meeting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canada's Mark Carney.

The initiative will deepen collaboration between democratic partners across three continents and three oceans in emerging technologies, support diversification of supply chains, clean energy and mass adoption of AI, he said.

According to a joint statement by the governments of India, Australia and Canada, the three sides agreed to strengthen their ambition in cooperation on critical and emerging technologies to complement existing bilateral initiatives.

The initiative will draw on the natural strengths of the three countries and have an emphasis on green energy innovation and building resilient supply chains, including in critical minerals, it said.

"It will deepen their respective ambition and strategic collaboration towards net zero and drive further diversification of supply chains towards a secure, sustainable, and resilient future.

The partnership will also examine the development and mass adoption of artificial intelligence to improve the lives of our citizens, the statement said.

Officials from the three countries would convene in the first quarter of 2026 to take the initiative forward.

Separately, Modi on Saturday met his British counterpart Keir Starmer and UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres.

It was wonderful meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Johannesburg. This year has brought new energy to the IndiaUK partnership and we will keep driving it forward across many domains, Modi said in a post on X.

The prime minister said he had a very productive conversation with UN chief Guterres.

Addressing the opening session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting, Modi called for a profound rethink of the global development parameters and proposed setting up of a G20 initiative to counter the drug-terror nexus and a global healthcare response team.