Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to touch down in Europe, ahead of crucial talks with world leaders at the upcoming NATO summit.
Mr Albanese is due to arrive in Berlin late on Sunday, German time, before he meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later on Monday.
The one-on-one meeting will take place before the prime minister travels to the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
The German chancellor had invited the prime minister to visit Germany before the start of NATO talks.
Talks with Chancellor Scholz are expected to centre on manufacturing and clean energy, as well as security in the Indo-Pacific region and the war in Ukraine.
The discussions follow the marking of 500 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the ongoing war set to be among the key topics for discussion.
The federal government recently announced a support package for Ukraine worth $110 million.
While there had been criticism the military aid was not enough, education minister Jason Clare flagged on Sunday more support could be on its way.
“At the moment we are the biggest non-NATO investor or supporter of the effort in Ukraine, except for Sweden, who is about to become part of NATO,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“I won’t pre-empt what the prime minister says at the meeting, it’s an important meeting.”
The three-day visit to Europe will also see Mr Albanese meet with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, as well as the leaders of Japan and South Korea, who’ve also been invited to attend the NATO summit.
The leaders of the so-called “Indo-Pacific Four” are set to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, along with the role of the region in Europe.
NATO leaders were due to discuss plans to open a liaison office in Tokyo as part of a push to strengthen ties in the Indo-Pacific.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron has struck down the plans, coming out against the proposal
That decision has been praised by former prime minister Paul Keating, who said NATO was straying from its intended purpose of a European and American alliance.
“The Europeans have been fighting each other for the better part of 300 years, including giving the rest of us two world wars in the last hundred,” he said.
“Exporting that malicious poison to Asia would be akin to Asia welcoming the plague upon itself.
“With all of Asia’s recent development amid its long and latent poverty, that promise would be compromised by having anything to do with the militarism of Europe – and militarism egged on by the United States.”
