After United States Vice President Joe Biden cancelled his scheduled trip, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that the Quad Leaders’ Summit will not take place in Sydney as earlier scheduled.
On May 24, the leaders of Australia, the United States, Japan, and India were supposed to meet in Sydney; the day before, Mr. Biden was supposed to address the federal legislature. But with the deadline for lifting the debt ceiling to prevent an economically disastrous default approaching at the end of the month, the US president decided to cancel his trip.
Mr. Albanese announced that Mr. Biden’s trip to Australia would be postponed and that the president had extended an invitation to him to make a state visit to the US later in the year.
However, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said Mr. Biden would return to the US on Sunday once the G7 conference was over.
“The President spoke to Prime Minister Albanese earlier today to inform him that he will be postponing his trip to Australia,” Ms. Jean-Pierre added.
The Prime Minister was also formally invited to the White House by Biden although the date is yet to be fixed and made public.
At the G7 conference, which Albanese would be attending, Mr. Albanese claimed that the four leaders from the Quad nations will schedule to meet in Japan. He was quick to add that there’s no agreed date and time yet.
Albanese claimed that the absence of Mr. Biden did not diminish the importance of the Quad.
The significance of the Quad was stressed by Biden, who also expressed his disappointment over his failure to attend. He stated that he was quite dissatisfied with some of the measures taken by certain members of Congress and the US Senate. But as president, he needed to stay back, ensure his country was steadied, and then steer it on the right path.
According to Albanese, “Obviously, the president’s domestic priority is to play a role in resolving those issues, which is understandable.” With this delay in the Quad meeting, the AUKUS deal will have to wait.
Discussions about the US debt ceiling debate, for extension and raise to $US31.4 trillion ($A46.9 trillion), between the White House and largely opposition Republicans gave rise to Biden’s abrupt cancellation of his trip to Australia. The US government won’t be able to pay its bills if the White House and Congress don’t agree to raise the debt ceiling before it expires on June 1, 2023, according to a warning from the Treasury Department.
