‘My sincere apologies’: Biden apologizes to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for canceling his trip to Sydney due to the looming debt crisis – which derailed the Quad meeting at the iconic Opera House
- President Joe Biden personally apologized to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday for canceling his planned trip to Sydney
- Biden was due to attend the Quad Summit at Sydney’s famed Opera House and meet bilaterally with the Australian leader
- Due to the looming US debt crisis, he had to cancel
President Joe Biden personally apologized to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday for canceling his planned trip to Sydney due to the looming US debt crisis.
Biden announced on Tuesday that he would not be traveling to Australia and Papua New Guinea for the Quad meeting with leaders of Australia, Japan and India after the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Instead, the four met in Hiroshima later on Saturday night and his scheduled bilateral meeting with Albanese took place on Saturday afternoon.
“I look forward to our conversation today and to welcoming you on an official state visit to Washington, DC this year, and once again I would like to sincerely apologize to you for coming here and not that I am in Australia now ‘ Biden said Albanese. “But there’s a little thing happening in our house that we have to watch out for.”
Albanese said he realized why a schedule change was needed.
President Joe Biden (right) personally apologized to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) on Saturday for canceling his planned trip to Sydney due to the looming US debt crisis
“Certainly I understand the circumstances that led us to hold the Sydney Quad meeting in Hiroshima later tonight, but also to catch up on our bilateral meetings that we had scheduled for a few days,” the Australian leader said to Biden .
Albanese’s first meeting with Biden and the other quad leaders was on the same day he was sworn in.
On May 23, 2022, Albanese took the oath of office and then flew to Tokyo to meet with Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“If you fall asleep here, that’s fine,” Biden joked during their first bilateral meeting. “I don’t know how you do it.”
The president later joked, “I know you’ve been in office a long time.”
Biden, under his leadership, strengthened the Quad to stem China’s growing power.
Now, almost a year later, Biden is struggling with the consequences of canceling his planned trip to Australia because of the looming debt crisis.
The Quad leaders gathered in Hiroshima, Japan on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Saturday night instead of holding the meeting in Sydney, Australia. From left: President Joe Biden, Australian President Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The quad was due to take place at Sydney’s iconic Opera House later this week, but instead the four leaders met in Hiroshima on Saturday night because Biden cut short his trip to get a grip on the debt ceiling
Albanese had booked Sydney’s famous opera house to host the Quad Summit, hoping Modi and Kishida would make the trip down under anyway after Biden pulled out.
However, a few hours later, the Australian leader called the whole thing off.
Instead, the four quad leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Saturday night.
Biden thanked Albanese, Modi and Kishida for “accommodating the relocation”, spoke about their common goals and thanked them for their friendship.
The Biden administration said it will also plan a state visit for Albanese, an event expected later this year.
Earlier this month, the White House announced that Modi would host the government’s third state dinner, following France and South Korea.
Australia was one of only two countries to be honored with state dinners during former President Donald Trump’s administration.