The two leaders have much to discuss, including the multi-billion dollar AUKUS project, also involving Britain, to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, which is currently under Pentagon review.
“Australia and the United States are great partners. I expect it to be very constructive,” Albanese told reporters in New York on Tuesday, confirming the meeting.
Albanese is attending the UN General Assembly for the first time, where he recognised Palestinian statehood on Sunday. He will promote Australia’s ban on social media for children on Wednesday, and seek support for Australia and Pacific Island nations hosting the COP31 climate summit amid resistance from Turkiye.
Reelected as leader of a centre-left Labour government in a May national election, Albanese had been criticised by domestic political opponents because he has yet to meet Trump after a meeting scheduled on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June was cancelled when the president left early.
US under secretary of defence Elbridge Colby, a public critic of AUKUS, is leading the Pentagon review. He said last year that submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and US industry could not produce enough to meet American demand.
On Tuesday, a senior US state department official said he understood the review would be completed in the autumn and involved wide coordination between the Pentagon, the state department and other agencies.
“Ultimately, what this is about is making sure that AUKUS benefits America and that the US Government writ large is in full support behind it,” he told reporters.
Australia, which has already paid about US$1 billion as part of ongoing contributions to support the expansion of American submarine shipyards, has maintained it is confident AUKUS will proceed.
Under pressure from Washington to increase defense spending, Australia this month announced an extra A$12 billion (US$8 billion) to upgrade a shipyard in Western Australia for AUKUS submarine maintenance.