Macron - Albanese meet at Paris to discuss relations beyond AUKUS

Paris, Jul 2: French President Emmanuel Macron received the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese on Friday (Jul 1), in order to discuss the future ties between the two countries, in an effort to rebuild relations, strained by Canberra's decision to ditch a submarine contract with Paris.

 

 

 

 

The bilateral relationship deteriorated when Australia last year cancelled a billion-dollar deal for submarines with French-owned shipbuilder Naval Group for a trilateral security pact with the US and the UK, leading to one of the most heated diplomatic crises between the two countries. The French presidential palace, the Elysee, said Macron and Albanese reaffirmed their commitment to build a "closer and stronger bilateral relationship based on mutual trust and respect." Macron said, "The new Australia position, proactive, ambitious, offers us an opportunity to move forward together on new projects within the framework of initiatives launched these recent years."

 

 

 

 

 

For his part, Albanese noted that his visit "represents a new start for our countries' relationship." He said, "Australia's relationship with France matters. Trust, respect and honesty matter. This is how I will approach my relations." Macron said, "we will speak about the future, not the past." Besides, in a joint statement, the two countries said that they have agreed to establish a new agenda for cooperation. As per the statement, "To take the bilateral relationship forward, we agree to establish a new agenda for cooperation based on three pillars: defence and security; resilience and climate action; and education and culture."

 

 

The two countries said they are determined to be active in regional fora and to enhance security cooperation with Pacific countries, in particular on maritime surveillance with regional agencies, and in the Indian Ocean, including in partnership with India.