US President Joe Biden will address the Australian parliament when he visits Canberra and Sydney for security talks.
Key points:
- Joe Biden will be the fifth US president to address the Australian parliament
- He will travel to Australia alongside the Japanese prime minister and Indian president
- The parliament address will happen the day before the Quad leaders’ meeting
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host the president alongside Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Indian President Narendra Modi for the Quad summit next week.
It will be the first visit by a US president in almost a decade and marks the fifth time an American leader has addressed MPs and senators.
Mr Albanese said the visit demonstrated the depth and strength of the alliance.
The prime minister said the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue would be the most significant gathering in Australia since the G20 more than a decade ago.
He said the bilateral relationship with India would deliver economic benefits for Australian trade, investment and business. He said no partner in the Indo-Pacific was closer than Japan.
“Our partnership is underpinned by our shared values, including a commitment to democracy, human rights, free trade and a rules-based order,” Mr Albanese said.
The Quad leaders’ meeting will be held at Sydney’s Opera House on May 24 and Mr Biden will address the parliament in Canberra the day before.
The father of Julian Assange has also renewed his campaign to have the prime minister bring up his son’s legal woes and have the US president drop charges against the Wikileaks founder.
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Richard Assange says he is preparing to send a letter requesting a meeting with the president ahead of his arrival and protests will continue while the president is in Australia.
“My job is to solely focus on bringing Julian home and speaking to the supporters wherever I can,” he told ABC’s 7:30 program on Tuesday.
“It’s a good time, of course, to remind the president that it is a concern of the Australian people.”
Mr Albanese will also hold bilateral meetings with the leaders in Australia and will be a guest at the G7 meeting in Japan from May 19 to 21.
The leaders will discuss climate change and accelerating the clean energy transition as well as Indo-Pacific security.
The Quad is not a military alliance but was set up to counter Chinese influence in the region.
AAP