Australia says it's is ready to export uranium to India with the passing of legislation in its parliament, nearly three years after the two countries signed an export deal for peaceful power generation.

At a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector, including renewable energy, was on the upswing.

Turnbull said Australia was looking forward to the first export of Australian uranium to India as soon as possible.

India has more than 20 nuclear reactors in operation. Modi has promised to provide power to the entire country by 2019 and needs uranium imports to fuel India's nuclear power plants. Around 400 million Indians still have no access to electricity.