President Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner to the White House on Wednesday for a state visit focused on countering Chinese aggression in the Pacific and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.
Mr. Albanese’s arrival at the White House included the usual pomp and circumstance reserved for a foreign leader’s state visit, with marching bands and honor guards and hundreds of people holding U.S. and Australian flags.
Mr. Biden hailed the two nations’ cooperation on technology innovations and global issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to the terror attack in Israel this month.
“Time and time again, we’ve seen what Australia and America can do when we stand as one,” Mr. Biden said.
“The ties between Australia and the United States have never been more important than it is today, and we have never been more committed than we are today,” the president continued. “Australia and America stand ready to do the hard work, the historic work to tackle the challenges we face, ready to take a giant leap together.”
Mr. Albanese underscored the two nations’ long-standing alliance, in which they fought together from World War I to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It is our people that we honor when we remember the generations of Australians and Americans who have fought and fallen together, our veterans and all those who have given the cause of peace their last full measure of devotion,” he said.
The arrival ceremony was to be followed by an Oval Office meeting and a joint press conference with global journalists. A lavish state dinner is planned for the evening.
Guests at the state dinner will dine in a pavilion on the South Lawn, draped in cloth inspired by the colors of the sunset, according to the White House. Tables will be festooned with pink roses, Australian eucalyptus, dahlias and delphiniums.
Kate Button, a North Carolina chef and restaurant owner, created a menu featuring butternut squash soup, a roasted beet salad and sarsaparilla-braised short ribs.
The visit is part of the Biden administration’s effort to deepen its ties with Australia to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region, a key foreign policy priority.
Mr. Biden had planned to visit Australia in May but canceled his trip due to debt ceiling negotiations. Now the war between Israel and Hamas is overshadowing Mr. Albanese’s visit.
The two leaders will talk about the Middle East crisis as the conflict threatens to engulf the entire region. They also plan to talk about a new tech agreement that would let U.S. companies launch space flights from Australia and hammer out an agreement on sharing critical minerals.
Another key focus will be the progress of the AUKUS alliance among Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. The pact would give Australia access to nuclear-powered submarines.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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