Joe Biden personally apologizes to Anthony Albanese for the canceled trip to Australia as the pair meet for talks in Japan
- The two leaders met at the G7 summit in Japan
- The US president canceled the trip to Sydney next week
- Quad meeting will now be held on the sidelines of the summit
An important meeting between three world leaders and the Prime Minister of Australia is taking place on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan.
Anthony Albanese landed in Japan on Friday as a guest for the three-day Hiroshima talks between some of the world’s most powerful nations.
On the sidelines of the event, leaders from Australia, the United States, Japan and India plan to meet on Saturday after the QUAD summit was cancelled.
The meeting was scheduled to take place in Sydney next week, but was called off after President Joe Biden canceled his trip due to domestic concerns surrounding the debt crisis.
“I look forward to our conversation today and hosting you for an official state visit this year in Washington DC,” President Biden told Prime Minister Albanese at a rally on Saturday.
“And again, I sincerely apologize for coming here, instead of me being in Australia right now – but we have a little thing at home that I need to watch out for.”
The four leaders will discuss collaboration on secure digital technology, submarine cables, infrastructure capacity building and maritime domain awareness, the White House confirmed.
US President Joe Biden and Anthony Albanese have signed a new agreement for further cooperation on climate and clean energy. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Mr. Albanese and the US President signed a new agreement committing to continuing cooperation between the two nations on climate and clean energy.
“What we’ve done today is unequivocally adding a new element to that alliance: climate action,” Albanese said.
The annual G7 meeting began with sweeping new sanctions against Russia over its illegal invasion of Ukraine and is expected to focus on nuclear non-proliferation, economic woes and the impacts of climate change over eight working sessions.
In addition to the G7 countries, Australia announced new sanctions against Russian entities and an export ban on machinery.
“The G7 is a critical organ of the seven of the world’s largest democracies coming together at a time when we have global instability,” Albanese said upon arrival.
The decision to hold a Quad leadership meeting came after President Biden announced earlier this week that he would not be able to make the long journey to Australia.
“After President Biden had to postpone his trip to Australia, the Quad leaders agreed to hold their summit in Hiroshima to ensure the four leaders could come together to mark the progress of the Quad over the past year,” said the statement.
Shortly before the G7 leaders met for a ceremonial welcome, Mr Albanese met with Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on Saturday afternoon.
The two men discussed Australia’s commitment to the international order, humanitarian concerns in Sudan and Ukraine and efforts to tackle climate change.
They spoke about the role of the UN and the importance of supporting small island states with financial resources, climate resilience and adaptation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the first time on Friday ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit. Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/ Brazilian Presidency/AFP
On Saturday night, Mr Albanese is expected to address leaders on climate action before meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to continue talks on a free trade agreement between the two markets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the G7 on Sunday to give a personal briefing on the state of his country’s resistance to the Russian invasion.