White House Prepares to Welcome Australia for Fourth State Visit
President Joe Biden participates in a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at Kantei in Tokyo (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz).
The Australian Prime Minister was invited back in June.
Article by Georgia Simon, Assistant White House Editor
WASHINGTON - Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, is visiting the United States this week for a state dinner hosted by the President and the First Lady. Back in June, Biden was set to visit the continent of Oceana but had to cancel due to the looming debt ceiling bill that needed to be passed. With hopes of a calmer time, Biden invited Albanese to Washington to review foreign policy and once again redeem their alliance.
On Wednesday afternoon, after the official state arrival ceremony, bilateral meetings and a press conference are scheduled between the president and the prime minister. A strict foreign affairs agenda is set to be discussed, with talks on China, climate change and more.
According to the New York Times, “The most crucial areas of cooperation are a joint contract with Britain to develop and deploy nuclear-powered attack submarines — which gives the United States a crucial technological edge against China — and expansion of a joint military presence in the Pacific islands, including Papua New Guinea.”
Australia is considered a key factor in “America’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific,” especially as China’s frequent aggression in the region continues.
This state dinner has come at a time of complete chaos throughout American soil and across the globe. President Biden is currently watching over two unprecedented wars, while also managing our own domestic affairs as America is still without a Speaker in the House chamber. The government is also set to shut down again next month unless a bill can be passed by our extremely divided Congress.
“Being president of the United States means balancing an awful lot of priorities and challenges, whether they’re domestic or foreign, and oftentimes the line between those blur pretty dang quickly,” John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the White House, said on Tuesday.
Another topic of discussion is based right on our home front. Congress currently has to pass legislation dealing with AUKUS, an agreement between, Britain, Australia and the United States. This legislation would allow nuclear power submarines to be shipped to Australia. President Biden, with little power in Congress, will continue to reiterate his commitment.
A slight change has also been made to the state dinner as the B-52s will no longer be performing and the U.S. Marine Band and the Army and Air Force Strolling strings will be taking over. Originally from Georgia, the B-52s will now be attending as guests after First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, said “We are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain, so we made a few adjustments to the entertainment portion of the evening.”
“Nurturing our partnerships and relations with our allies is critically important, especially in these tumultuous times. Food is comforting, reassuring and healing, and we hope that this dinner provides a little of that as well,” Dr. Biden said.
The dinner will be outdoors on the South Lawn under tents on Wednesday night. Flashes of Australian culture will be scattered across the event, showing a sign of friendship, unity and strength during a time of unrest throughout the world.
This is the Biden’s fourth state visit. The previous Biden administration state dinners were held in honor of France (December 2022), the Republic of Korea (April 2023), and India (June 2023).