Joe Biden praises Anthony Albanese for staying awake at Quad leaders summit in Tokyo, Japan

Joe Biden praised Anthony Albanese’s resilience after the new Prime Minister flew to Tokyo for a summit of Quad leaders on his first day in office.

The 79-year-old US president, who fell asleep during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last year, told Albanese: “If you fall asleep while you’re here, that’s fine.”

In his first appearance on the world stage, the Labor leader laughed at President Biden’s self-deprecating joke alongside diplomats and journalists in the room.

He also smiled from ear to ear as he posed for photographs with his fellow centre-left leader, who commented that his appearance at the summit just hours after taking office was “quite extraordinary”.

Albanese, 59, was sworn in as Prime Minister on Monday and immediately flew to Tokyo for the Quad summit with the United States, Japan and India.

The alliance was created to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Albanese will return to Australia on Wednesday afternoon after his whirlwind visit.

In his brief address to his fellow leaders, President Biden congratulated Albanese on winning Saturday’s election.

‘Prime Minister Albanese, I welcome you to your first meeting of the Quad. Like I said, you took the oath, you got on a plane and if you fall asleep while you’re here, that’s okay because I don’t know how you’re doing it,’ he said.

“It is really extraordinary to also come out of the electoral campaign.

‘Congratulations on your choice. When he won and I called him, we really appreciated his commitment to being here so soon after taking office.’

Albanese said Australia’s commitment to the Quad remained strong despite the change in government.

“We have had a change of government in Australia, but Australia’s commitment to the Quad has not changed and will not change,” he said.

‘And our commitment to ASEAN (an alliance of Southeast Asian nations) and its centrality has not changed.

“My government has already committed to paying greater attention to Southeast Asia, including the appointment of a special envoy to the region and $470 million in additional foreign aid over the next four years.”

Albanese also discussed his increased commitments to addressing climate change and spoke of his goal of reducing emissions by 43 percent by 2030.

“The new Australian government’s priorities align with the Quad agenda: taking action to deliver change for demanders and building a stronger and more resilient Indo-Pacific region through better economic security, better cybersecurity, better energy and better environmental and health security,” he stated. .

“Our cooperation is based on the values ​​we share: the commitment to representative democracy, the rule of law and the right to live in peace.”

The four leaders spoke of ensuring a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Quad leaders were due to discuss security concerns in the region, including the signing of a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands, as well as climate change, infrastructure needs and disaster relief collaboration. .

It comes as the Chinese foreign minister will land in Honiara at the end of the week to officially sign the agreement.

The Quad will also introduce new maritime measures to curb illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific, including the use of satellite technology to track illegal fishers, according to the Financial Times.

President Biden met with Prime Minister Kishida on Monday, where he unveiled the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, which includes a dozen initial partners representing 40 percent of global GDP.

Partners include Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei.

Albanese said the Quad dialogue would send a signal to the world that there was a new government in Australia.

“It is a government that represents a change in the way we approach the world on issues such as climate change, but also a continuity in the way we respect democracy and in the way we value our long-standing friendships and alliances” , he claimed. he told reporters in Canberra before leaving on Monday.

Albanese will also hold one-on-one bilateral talks with the leaders throughout Tuesday.

The Prime Minister is joined by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and briefed on the trip by the head of the Office of National Intelligence and senior officials from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Albanese also had a 25-minute conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while on air on Monday.

The pair discussed continued support for the AUKUS trilateral agreement and climate change, with Albanese describing the call as a “friendly and very positive discussion about our strong relations between our two countries.”

Albanese received a phone call from President Biden on Sunday evening, which the prime minister said was “fruitful and productive.”

With AAP