Scott Morrison to meet Japan’s Yoshihide Suga on home soil
Scott Morrison will travel to Japan next week to meet with the country’s new leader Yoshihide Suga to strike a new defence deal.
Scott Morrison will travel to Japan next week to meet with the country’s new leader, Yoshihide Suga, to strike a new defence deal amid escalating tensions with China and in the aftermath of the US election.
The Prime Minister will also travel to Port Moresby to meet with Papua New Guinea’s leader, James Marape, in what will be Mr Morrison’s first international trip since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The visit will be the first time a foreign leader has met with Mr Suga on Japanese soil and the two are expected to discuss military co-operation in response to Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and the threat of potential trade sanctions.
Mr Morrison was the first foreign leader to speak to the new Japanese Prime Minister when he took office in September, replacing Shinzo Abe. He said he would discuss Australia and Japan’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and ways to deepen its trade ties.
“I am honoured to be first foreign leader to visit Japan to meet the new Prime Minister following his appointment,” Mr Morrison said on Thursday.
“I will also be visiting Port Moresby on the return to Australia.
“Our relationship with Japan over the past few years has really gone from strength to strength. They are an important partner on so many issues within our region, we are special strategic partners and work closely together on trade, security, defence.”
“We will continue to discuss the work we are doing together to support them on COVID-19 and in particular how we can assist them during our vaccine program and the many other projects we have in place with them to address their challenges, in dealing with not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but of course the economic recession that flows from that.”
He will complete two weeks of self-quarantine at The Lodge and appear in question time via video link during the final parliamentary sitting fortnight of this year.
“I will go into isolation for 14 days as well as those who are accompanying me and what will be a first, I anticipate for the Australian parliament, joining Question Time by video link,” he said.
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