Anthony Albanese unveils $1 billion defense deal to sell Australian-made armored vehicles to Germany
- Australia sells armored vehicles from Brisbane to Germany
- The deal will be worth more than $1 billion to the economy
The Prime Minister has landed in Europe confirming a deal worth more than $1 billion to sell Australian-made armored vehicles to Germany ahead of talks at a NATO summit.
Anthony Albanese landed in Berlin on Sunday evening, German time, for a scheduled meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday.
He said Australia would sign a deal to supply 100 Brisbane-made Boxer heavy armor carriers to Germany.
It is one of the largest defense export deals in the country’s history.
“This will increase our defense capability and boost our economy, this is a great result,” Albanese told reporters upon arrival.
“And it’s the first outcome of quite a few that we have ready to announce tomorrow with our friends here in Germany.”
Mr Albanese said sales of the vehicles, made by German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall, would be worth more than $1 billion to the Australian economy.
The Prime Minister’s one-on-one meeting with Mr Sholz will take place before he travels to the NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.
Anthony Albanese (above) has landed in Berlin where he will meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss the sale of 100 Australian-made armored vehicles to Germany
Talks with the German leader are expected to focus on manufacturing and clean energy, as well as security in the Indo-Pacific region and the war in Ukraine.
The talks follow the 500-day mark since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the ongoing war set to be one of the main talking points.
The federal government recently announced a $110 million bailout package for Ukraine.
While there had been criticism that the military aid was not enough, Education Minister Jason Clare announced on Sunday that more aid could be on the way.
“At the moment we are the largest non-NATO investor or supporter of the efforts in Ukraine, with the exception of Sweden, which is on the verge of joining NATO,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“I will not prejudge what the prime minister says at the meeting, it is an important meeting.”
The three-day visit to Europe also includes a meeting between Mr Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
He will also meet the leaders of Japan and South Korea, who have also been invited to the NATO summit.
The leaders of the so-called ‘Indo-Pacific four’ will discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the region’s role in Europe.
NATO leaders are said to be discussing plans to open a liaison office in Tokyo as part of an effort to strengthen ties with the Indo-Pacific.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron has brushed aside the plans and opposes the proposal
The sale of the Brisbane-made Boxer heavy armor carriers (above) would be worth more than $1 billion to the Australian economy
That move was praised by former Prime Minister Paul Keating, who said NATO was straying from its intended goal of a European and American alliance.
“The Europeans have been fighting each other for the better part of 300 years, including the rest of us two world wars in the last hundred,” he said.
“Exporting that vicious poison to Asia would be like Asia welcoming the plague upon it.
“With all of Asia’s recent development amid its long-standing and latent poverty, that promise would be compromised if it had anything to do with Europe’s militarism — and the militarism instigated by the United States.”