Albanese greatly values personal relationships he is building on global stage

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in India. Picture: Money Sharma/AFP

Anthony Albanese has developed a taste for global diplomacy, seeing himself as a Prime Minister with a knack for foreign policy – an evolution not obvious before his May election win.

Albanese built on the foundations left by Scott Morrison, rather than engaging in a major course correction to deliver the promised fleet of nuclear submarines under AUKUS, deal a rising China and tighten ties with partners of growing strategic heft such as India – a relationship with massive untapped potential.

But Albanese is also bringing his own style to the task and fixing what he saw as major weaknesses in the Morrison era. This is evident in his push to repair the country’s international reputation on climate action, his elevation of trust and transparency as key tenets of Labor’s global engagement and his easing of the hard national-security line against Beijing.

While the destination has not changed, the tone and approach have.

Albanese greatly values the personal relationships he is building on the global stage and was clearly buoyed by his meetings with Narendra Modi during the three-day stay in India.

Albanese appeared to have the time of his life and described his open-air “chariot” ride around Narendra Modi stadium Ahmedabad with the Indian leader in front of 50,000 chanting cricket fans as a life highlight.

Before he left New Delhi on Saturday, Albanese was direct in sketching out his philosophy of successful foreign policy.

“We want a peaceful, secure world, but part of that is investing in our national defence, but also investing in our relationships,” he said.

“So it’s not just about dollars. It’s not just about capability. It’s also about the way that Australia is seen in the world, about dealing with other nations diplomatically, treating people with respect, making sure that our word can be trusted.”

“That’s my aim on the international stage, working with Penny Wong and working with Richard Marles as the Defence Minister and our entire team.”

A symbol of this approach was Albanese’s decision to begin his trip in Ahmedabad in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, which he also represented as chief minister from 2001-2014 – a choice the Indian Prime Minister would welcome.

Albanese has tried to make more diverse visits to other nations a feature of his diplomacy. He travelled to Wewak on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea in January at the suggestion of Prime Minister James Marape to pay tribute to the late Sir Michael Somare – the nation’s first leader.

In Indonesia, he was the first Australian prime minister to visit the port city of Makassar on the island of Sulawesi – the largest city in Eastern Indonesia – to promote business and investment.

When Albanese met Manasseh Sogavare at the Pacific Islands Forum in July, he welcomed him warmly with a sign of personal friendship and embraced him with open arms despite the Solomon Islands’ leader having struck a security deal with Beijing.

Albanese has relished putting his own personal touch on the management of foreign relations, to demonstrate Australia’s reliability as a partner and elevate trust and respect between nations as a cornerstone of his leadership.

While this approach has seen his government extended much goodwill from foreign nations less than a year into office, his legacy as a foreign policy prime minister will be dictated by events and how he responds to them.

The unveiling of the new AUKUS submarine arrangements on Tuesday will represent the first major challenge, presenting key tests for the management of the Chinese relationship among other regional neighbours such as Jakarta.

The delivery of the nuclear submarines, filling the looming capability gap and boosting jobs while finessing the strategic framework for the coming decades will determine Albanese’s achievements in foreign affairs.