Scott Morrison’s world tour to strengthen key ties

Scott Morrison will travel to Britain, France and Singapore in a week-long international mission to strengthen economic, security and trade ties.

Scott Morrison in question time on Wednesday. Picture: Martin Ollman

Scott Morrison will travel to Britain, France and Singapore in a week-long international mission to strengthen economic, security and trade ties with key allies and build strategic co-operation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Mr Morrison’s attendance at the G7 leaders’ summit in Cornwall, after Australia was invited as a guest by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is expected to include bilateral meetings with regional partners including the US, South Korea and Japan.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden on the G7 summit sidelines, and also meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Before arriving in the Cornish seaside resort of Carbis Bay next week, Mr Morrison will hold talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The talks are likely to focus on Australia’s partnership with ASEAN, China’s increasing ­assertiveness in the region, and geostrategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

Plans for a travel bubble ­between Australia and Singapore will be discussed but not ­advanced after a new Covid-19 outbreak in the island nation.

Following the G7 summit, Mr Morrison will travel to London for a series of meetings, including with Mr Johnson in which the pair will push to finalise the Australia-UK free trade agreement.

British and Australian authorities have been working to iron out their differences over agricultural products and tariffs.

After London, French President Emmanuel Macron has ­invited Mr Morrison to Paris, where they will discuss French influence in the Indo-Pacific and Australia’s ongoing concerns around the $90 billion future submarines program led by French company Naval Group.

Mr Morrison will conclude the trip with a visit to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and meet with Mathias Cormann, Australia’s longest-serving finance minister who took charge of the OECD this week.

With Victoria under an extended lockdown following a coronavirus outbreak and international borders remaining closed, the one-week blitz is viewed by the government as critical in promoting Australia’s agency in the regional and world order and maintaining high-level dialogue with key partners.

Mr Morrison’s meeting with Mr Johnson comes as the British Carrier Strike Group military deployment continues its 28-week tour to enhance British diplomatic, trade and defence capabilities, which includes sailing through the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific.

Britain, France and the US have significantly stepped-up their military commitments and presence in the Indo-Pacific amid increasing geostrategic competition with China.

G7 nations Britain, the US, Japan, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the EU and invited countries Australia, South Korea, India and South Africa, will use the June 11-13 summit to align their democratic values and priorities and discuss climate change commitments and the post-Covid economy.

The world’s advanced liberal market economies are expected to focus on energy, climate change, cyber security, global ­financial stability, critical supply chains, vaccines, biosecurity and multilateral reforms.

In an interview with The Australian last month, Mr Morrison said secure supply chains and commercial relationships between like-minded countries was “an important part of our ­future”, whether it was the G7-Plus, Quad or OECD.

On climate change, Mr Morrison will outline the work Australia is doing to drive down emissions and set a course ­towards a net-zero future, but he is not expected to make any major new announcements.

Plans for an in-person meeting of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders will not proceed after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would appear virtually as he deals with a surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths on the sub-continent.

Similar to Mr Morrison’s flying visit to Japan last year, the Prime Minister will quarantine at The Lodge and take part in question time via video link.