Key Points
- Albanese's state visit is intended to deepen an alliance that's increasingly viewed as a critical counterweight to China's influence in the Pacific.
- The two leaders said they would work together on supporting economic development among Pacific island nations.
- Biden described Australia as "an anchor to peace and prosperity".
The confirmation of a new speaker of the House in the US Congress has sparked hopes a landmark deal to sell US nuclear-powered submarines to Australia can finally be approved.
As US President Joe Biden and visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, .
That ended a weeks-long stalemate in Congress amid concerns the subs deal may be delayed or opposed.
Told of the news during the press conference with Albanese, Biden said: "I urge congress to pass AUKUS legislation this year. We have to get moving.
"I am confident we are going to be able to get the money for AUKUS because it is overwhelmingly in our interest.
"This is about maintaining stability in the Taiwan Straits, in the Indian Ocean, the whole area. I think it will increase the prospects for long-term peace."
Albanese said there was strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region.
"That is a fact we are living with, the relationship with China is one where the principle I bring is we cooperate where we can, disagree where we must but engage in our national interest.
"It is in Australia's interest, and China's interest, in fact it is a global interest to have a relationship where there is dialogue."
Albanese is shortly heading to China where he will meet President Xi.
"It is in the global interest for us to have a relationship where there is dialogue. Through dialogue comes understanding and a defusion of tension, We want a peaceful and secure region but one that is based on the rule of law," he said.
Albanese's state visit is intended to deepen an alliance that's increasingly viewed as a critical counterweight to China's influence in the Pacific.
It was the ninth and most high-profile meeting between the two leaders, reflecting their work toward closer ties on climate change, technology and national security.
, part of a collaboration with the United Kingdom.
"We renewed our commitment to defend the values that are at the heart of this alliance," Biden said. "We continue to stand as one to forge a better future for both of us and all of the region."
The state visit is only the fourth since Biden took office.
Biden said the alliance was characterised by "imagination, ingenuity and innovation," and they will "race undaunted to a future we know is possible if we work together."
Albanese said the "soul of our partnership" is "not a pact against a common enemy," but "a pledge to a common cause."
The two leaders said they would work together on supporting economic development among Pacific island nations, a key arena as the US seeks the upper hand in the region.
They plan to invest in building maritime infrastructure and .
They also want to have US companies launch space missions from Australia, and Microsoft announced it would spend $US3 billion on cybersecurity, cloud computing and artificial intelligence there.
Albanese arrived at the White House on Wednesday morning as a military band played and 4000 guests watched from the South Lawn.
The friendship between the nations, he said, "has been forged in hard times, we have served and sacrificed together in the cause of peace, we have helped each other through natural disasters. Australia and America share a rich history but we have our eye on the future."
"The relationship has never been more important, or stronger, than it is right now."
