‘Confident’: Albo’s big claim after Biden chat

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he is confident about the future of the $368bn AUKUS defence pact after meeting with US President Joe Biden at his home in Delaware.

Mr Albanese became the first foreign leader to be hosted at Mr Biden’s home when he met with the President on Friday afternoon, US time.

The pair talked about the security of the AUKUS defence pact ahead of the looming US election, which will pit former US President Donald Trump against current US Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I know from my own experience, one-on-one discussions I’ve had across the Congress and across the Senate, how deep the support for AUKUS is,” Mr Albanese said after the meeting.

“And there is no question in my mind that AUKUS will continue to have the support of any future US administration.”

Under the intelligence and military partnership, Australia will purchase three conventionally armed and nuclear-powered submarines to replace its current fleet of diesel electric submarines in the 2030s.

The AUKUS alliance has a host of other objectives, including working on quantum technologies, underwater robotic vehicles, and developing hypersonic and counter-hypersonic tech.

There were concerns that a second Trump presidency could jeopardise the huge sums of money Australia has committed to AUKUS after Elbridge Colby, senior defence official in Mr Trump’s administration, criticised the pact.

Yet Mr Albanese played down concerns about the threat to the $368bn defence agreement after his discussion with Mr Biden.

He would not be drawn to comment on the upcoming election, but said that he was “very concerned about democratic processes”.

When asked about the US President, Mr Albanese praised him as “fit” and “totally on top of his brief”.

“He is someone who – it is a great privilege to spend time with,” the Prime Minister said.

“I regard it as a privilege to be able to have a 90-minute engagement with President Biden today. I regard him as a friend and, importantly, someone who I can learn from. We can all learn off each other.”

President Biden withdrew from the upcoming presidential election amid growing concern about his age and mental acuity.

He will meet with the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan for a gathering of The Quad diplomatic alliance.

The quad leaders will meet on Saturday, US time, at the college President Biden attended in Delaware.

Mr Albanese’ meeting with Mr Biden was also attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, and US Ambassador Kevin Rudd.