Anthony Albanese has cancelled the 2023 Sydney Quad Leaders’ Summit after US President Joe Biden announced that he would be unable to attend. Image credit: U.S. Secretary of Defense
Anthony Albanese has cancelled the 2023 Sydney Quad Leaders’ Summit after US President Joe Biden announced that he would be unable to attend.
The cancelled Quad meeting, which was slated for May 24, would have seen the political leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the Unites States come together to discuss and plan the shared future of the Indo-Pacific region.
However, President Biden declined to attend as the US debt ceiling crisis reaches critical levels, resulting in Biden’s decision to return to the US to attempt resolve the matter domestically.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released an official statement on the decision, stating:
“President Biden will return to the United States on Sunday, following the completion of the G7 summit, in order to be back for meetings with Congressional leaders to ensure that Congress takes action by the deadline to avert default. The President spoke to Prime Minister Albanese earlier today to inform him that he will be postponing his trip to Australia.”
The Australian PM expressed his disappointment in the cancellation, but acknowledged the necessity of the decision.
“Because that has to be solved prior to 1 June — otherwise there are quite drastic consequences for the US economy, which will flow on to the global economy — he understandably has had to make that decision,” said Albanese.
“All four leaders — President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, Prime Minister Modi and myself — will be at the G7, held in Hiroshima on Saturday and Sunday. We are attempting to get together over that period of time [and] I’ll have a bilateral discussion with President Biden,” he said.
“At this stage, we haven’t got a time locked in for that arrangement.”
It has been nearly a decade since a sitting US President visited Australia, the last being President Barack Obama in 2014.
The White House stressed that the “Quad remains a key priority for the president”, however, there is no indication of when another meeting might take place.
