Australia PM Tony Abbott Arrives in India, Nuclear Deal Likely on Agenda

MUMBAI:  Amid indications that a nuclear deal could be in the offing, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott arrived in Mumbai this morning on a two-day India visit during which the two countries would look at ways to deepen strategic ties and strengthen two-way trade and commerce.

Prime Minister Abbott landed in the financial capital, his first port of call, on a day-long visit during which he will interact with business leaders and select Indian CEOs.

He will also attend the launch of the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan in India and be present for felicitation of young cricketers by Oz cricket greats Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee at Cricket Club of India. India's cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar will also attend the ceremony.

Abbott is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of sports but details of the MoU have not been disclosed so far.

He will also lay a wreath at the memorial for the victims of 26/11 attacks at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, one of the scenes of the ghastly terror assault in 2008.

A big-ticket item on Abbott's agenda as he leaves for the national capital in the evening, however, would be a civil nuclear deal with India efforts for which have been underway since 2012 after Labor party reversed its decision to ban the sale of uranium to India because of New Delhi not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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