Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the increased engagement of the United States in the Pacific region, adding that the presence of the US was very important to the region.
His comments follows the new measures announced by US vice president Kamala Harris to boost America’s presence in the region.
“I very much welcome the increased engagement of the United States in the region to a significant support package they’ve announced, increased diplomatic presence, increased support in the form of aid, increased support in the form of infrastructure development here,” he said.
He said the engagement was consistent with the decisions made at the Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo.
“When we met in Tokyo, the leaders of the United States, Australia, Japan, and India, of course launched an economic presence in the region and that is very important.
“The United States is an important partner of the region and Australia welcomes their renewed commitment.”
He said he had a number of discussions with Pacific leaders, and was looking forward to developing those relationships on a personal basis going forward.
