Anthony Albanese is set to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, where he plans to strengthen regional security and economic ties. The prime minister arrived in India on September 8, ahead of the two-day summit hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In addition to meeting with Modi, Albanese will engage in bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and meet with leaders from Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, and Turkey.
Albanese expressed his desire to advance discussions on security within the Indo-Pacific, considering the escalating tensions in the region. He emphasized the importance of promoting security, stability, and peace and stated that engaging constructively is the way to achieve these goals. Albanese highlighted the progress made in building relationships in the region over a short period.
While tensions in the Indo-Pacific mainly revolve around Chinese territorial claims, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will not be attending the summit. Instead, Premier Li Qiang will represent China. Albanese had already conducted one-on-one talks with China’s second-in-command on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Jakarta on September 7. Despite aiming for closer defense and security ties with neighboring Asian nations that have issues with China, Albanese still intends to strengthen links with Australia’s largest trading partner. He emphasized the goal of developing positive relations throughout the entire region and stated that cooperation and disagreement with China will happen when necessary.
After meeting with Li, Albanese accepted an invitation from China to visit Xi Jinping later this year. The G20 summit is expected to address the wording of the leaders’ final statement regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russia will also be present. President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit this year following the 2022 Ukraine invasion, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov representing Russia instead.
Albanese’s visit to New Delhi concludes his week-long diplomatic trip to Asia, which included stops in Jakarta for the ASEAN summit and Manila for bilateral talks with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.