Australia PM Anthony Albanese's Germany, NATO trip to focus on trade, security

According to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office, trade and security will be a priority on his trip this week to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and attend a NATO conference in Lithuania.

The Labour leader’s office announced late Saturday that he will visit Scholz on Monday to discuss “deepening cooperation between Australia and Germany” in “trade and investment, the clean energy transition, and defence.”

Australia will push for “our region’s strategic priorities and advance Australia’s security, economic, and trade agenda” at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a statement.

Australia is not a member of NATO but has a decades-long relationship with the Western Alliance and attended last year’s summit in Madrid as a non-member participant.

“Alongside our NATO allies, Australia continues to demonstrate our unwavering support for Ukraine, and our condemnation of Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion,” Albanese said in the statement.

Australia, one of the most significant non-NATO contributors to the West’s support for Ukraine, has sent aid and defensive equipment while also prohibiting the sale of alumina and aluminium ores, particularly bauxite, to Russia.

Australia pledged Ukraine a new A$110 million ($74 million) package this month, including 70 military vehicles to guard against Russia’s incursion, bringing Australia’s overall commitment to Ukraine to A$790 million ($530 million).

Also this week, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell will visit Brussels in an attempt to restart stalled talks between Australia and the EU on a free trade pact.

According to Reuters, the trip follows recent meetings between Australian and European Union trade ministers, as hope grows that sticking issues in the accord may be addressed with additional dialogue.

“While in Brussels I will meet my counterpart, Executive Vice-President and European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, as well as the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski,” Farrell said in a statement on Sunday.

($1 = 1.4952 Australian dollars)