The French President spoke with the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony ALBANESE.

The President of the French Republic spoke with the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, today to congratulate him on his election.

The French President recalled the historic ties between France and Australia, and the sheer gratitude of generations of French citizens for the young Australians who fought in the trenches of the First World War. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten, especially at a time when war has returned to the European continent.

Having noted the profound breach of trust following the decision of former Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, to terminate the future submarine programme, the French President and the Australian Prime Minister agreed to rebuild a bilateral relationship based on trust and respect in order to overcome global challenges together, with the priority being the climate emergency and the strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

A roadmap will be drawn up to create this new bilateral agenda, which will help identify areas for strategic cooperation between our two countries, strengthen our resilience and achieve regional peace and security.
The French President and the Australian Prime Minister also discussed the situation in Ukraine and the FARM initiative (Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission) in response to the food crisis risk.