Anthony Albanese has arrived in Vanuatu for crucial talks on a long-awaited security and economic agreement with the Pacific nation.
A guard of honour greeted the prime minister on Tuesday as he arrived in Port Vila to discuss the pact with his counterpart Jotham Napat.
While there were expectations the $500 million Nakamal security pact would be signed after months of negotiation, Mr Albanese said locking it in will take a bit longer.
“I wouldn’t expect that it will be signed today, but what we will do is to progress it today, to have that conversation,” he told ABC Radio before leaving Australia.
“We have committed to working towards upgrading our relationship.
“There’s still some work to do, but we’re making good progress.”
Mr Albanese’s first stop will be State House, where he will make a courtesy call to Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu.
He will then hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart.
It will be the first time the pair have met in person since Mr Napat came to office in February.
The deal is believed to carry a significant security element, though details haven’t been released.
That might focus on decreasing China’s policing presence in Vanuatu, similar to Australia’s pact with the Solomon Islands to reduce Chinese officers in exchange for budget aid and expanding the local police force.
Despite the delay in signing off on the agreement, Mr Albanese said he was confident of a breakthrough in talks.
“We want to enter into good faith discussions, and one way that you do that, of course, isn’t just by talking on the phone, it’s by having a face-to-face discussion,” he said.
“What we’re looking for is to build on the relationship, to be able to both benefit from shared prosperity.”
It is Mr Albanese’s first visit to Vanuatu as prime minister.
A previous security agreement struck with Vanuatu in 2022 was never approved by the country’s parliament, amid concerns over a lack of consultation and whether it was consistent with Vanuatu’s philosophy of non-alignment in foreign policy.
Fears over China’s ambitions to gain a security foothold in the Pacific, including the risk of establishing a military presence, have been heightened since Beijing stunned the region in 2022 by striking a security agreement with the Solomon Islands.
Vanuatu had pushed for visa-free travel to Australia as part of negotiations for the Nakamal agreement, but Mr Napat said this would be covered in a follow-up pact when an initial deal was decided in August.
The visit by the prime minister to Vanuatu comes ahead of Mr Albanese travelling to the Solomon Islands for talks with other leaders in the region at the Pacific Islands Forum.
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