CANBERRA (AP) By Dr. Majid khan – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out the possibility of a quad summit in Sydney without President Joe Biden at the meeting of the seven major nations in Japan this weekend. The four leaders said they would meet.
Albanese said Wednesday that he understands why Biden left the summit to focus on debt-straightening negotiations in Washington, which are vital to the economy. A summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was scheduled for May 24.
“The deadlock and turmoil in US domestic politics over the debt ceiling issue means that it must be resolved by June 1, or it will be very detrimental to the US economy. “It’s going to have a dramatic impact,” Albanese told reporters.
Mr Albanese said Mr Biden had “expressed great disappointment” the day before that he was unable to attend the summits in Sydney and Canberra to address parliament. According to him, the four leaders will soon hold a summit of seven major nations in Hiroshima and plan to meet there.
“The quad is an important organization and we want to make sure it’s at the senior level. We’ll have that discussion over the weekend,” Albanese said.
He said Modi will visit Sydney next week, noting that the Indian leader is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora at a packed 20,000-seat stadium. However, Mr. Kishida did not come to see him.
“Next week, Prime Minister Modi will come with me to the bilateral talks. He will also hold business meetings and will have a very public event in Sydney,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“We are looking forward to welcoming him to Sydney,” Albanese said. “Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida has just come to the Quad meeting. There was no separate bilateral program.”
Ms. Albanese said it was “disappointing” that Mr. Biden decided not to come. “President Biden’s decision means that we cannot have a quadrilateral summit with only three of the four countries present,” Albanese said.
