Australia's Prime Minister Albany Gee met with French President Emmanuel Macron and expressed his willingness to improve relations between the two countries, which had been jerky since the abandonment of plans to develop a submarine with France.
Australian Prime Minister Albany Gee, who has been visiting Europe for the first time since taking office in May, met with President Emmanuel Macron on July 1 in France.
Last year, the Morrison administration at that time established the security framework "AUKUS" together with the United States and the United Kingdom, and announced plans to introduce nuclear submarines.
Along with this, the development plan for the submarine that had been underway with France was abandoned, and the relationship between the two countries remained jerky.
Prior to the meeting, the two leaders held a joint press conference, and President Macron welcomed him by stating, "We will overcome difficult situations, respect each other, and rebuild relationships based on strategic and historic partnerships." ..
"This visit is a new beginning of bilateral relations. I will focus on trust, respect and honesty and respond to relations with France," said Prime Minister Albany Gee.
Last month, the Australian government announced that it had agreed to pay a French shipbuilding company a settlement of € 555 million, or about JPY 78 billion in Japanese yen, over the abolition of its submarine development program.
It seems that Prime Minister Albany Gee wants to emphasize the difference from the former Morrison administration by emphasizing his stance of improving relations with France immediately after the inauguration of the administration.