The first round of negotiations on civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries will be held in Delhi in March 2013.

Australia announced $12 billion commitment for Water Technology Partnership in three States of eastern India. India-Australia Joint Working Group on Water will meet in April 2013 to give concrete shape to the partnership programme.

Indian Defence Minister AK Antony will be visiting Australia shortly to discuss defence and security issues. This will be the first ever visit of Indian Defence Minister to Australia.

Both the countries have agreed to expand cooperation of cyber policy. Negotiations for transfer of sentenced persons will commence shortly.

Australia is slated to take the Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) from India in 2014.

Australia will host a delegation of Indian Parliamentarians.

India will host the India-Australia Joint Commission on Trade and Investment shortly to give a boost to the negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the two countries.

Next round of negotiations for a social security agreement will take place in 2013.

Briefing the media at the conclusion of the 8th Round of Framework Dialogue between the two countries, the visiting Australian Foreign Minister Senator Bobb Carr said : “I am pleased that the announcement we are able to make today on the opening of talks on civil nuclear cooperation can be done. I am delighted to say the first round of negotiations on that cooperation agreement will take place in Delhi in March. I am pleased that we have been able to agree to work together on shared security challenges including joint efforts to combat terrorism, with Australia hosting the next meeting of the Joint Working Group we have on combating terrorism.”

The Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said : “We held the first Ministerial level Energy Dialogue led by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and the Australian Minister for Energy in December 2012. We shall be commencing negotiations on a civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement, led by our Ministry of External Affairs and the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in March 2013 in New Delhi. Our cooperation in water resources has expanded, and the Water Technology Partnership will take concrete shape at the next Joint Working Group in April 2013. And negotiations for the transfer of sentenced persons will commence shortly.”

On Water Technology Partnership Senator Carr said : “I am delighted to announce first phase of the Water Technology Partnership today with Australia committing a total of 12 billion dollars over four years. As a first step, we will pilot an Australian Water Management Tool in three States in eastern India, but also help improve flood warning systems and flood management in the Kosi river basin, and host a delegation to Australia to study our systems in the Murray Darling basin.”

He however dismissed the idea of a Japan-India-Australia Trilateral or Australia joining the India-Japan-US Trilateral as “hypothetical”.