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WASHINGTON, 25 Oct: President Joe Biden pressed forward with this week\u2019s state visit from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, carving out time to nurture the relationship with a critical U.S. ally in the Pacific against the backdrop of escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n
The state visit, only the fourth since Biden took office, is a reminder of how he\u2019s pursuing long-term plans to counter China\u2019s influence even as bloody conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, where the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues after almost two years, remain the most immediate concerns.<\/p>\n
Albanese arrived at the White House on Wednesday morning as a military band played and 4,000 guests watched from the South Lawn.<\/p>\n
Biden said their alliance is characterized by \u201cimagination, ingenuity and innovation,\u201d and they will \u201crace undaunted to a future we know is possible if we work together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albanese said the \u201csoul of our partnership\u201d is \u201cnot a pact against a common enemy,\u201d but \u201ca pledge to a common cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two leaders are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office before holding a press conference in the Rose Garden.<\/p>\n
Senior administration officials said Biden and Albanese would be focused on supporting economic development among Pacific island nations, a key arena as the U.S. seeks the upper hand in the region.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Australia plan to work together on building maritime infrastructure and laying undersea cables to strengthen internet connectivity, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss details before they\u2019re announced.<\/p>\n
There are also plans to have U.S. companies launch space missions from Australia, and Microsoft announced it would spend $3 billion on cybersecurity, cloud computing and artificial intelligence there.<\/p>\n
The initiatives come on top of a previously announced defense arrangement in which the U.S. is developing nuclear-powered submarines for Australia. The collaboration, which also involves the United Kingdom, is known as AUKUS, an acronym for the three countries\u2019 names.<\/p>\n
\u201cState visits are a big deal,\u201d said Charles Edel, a senior adviser and Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. \u201cThey\u2019re filled with plenty of pomp and circumstance, but they also serve as an opportunity to take stock of critical relationships and push them further forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s events end with a state dinner in a pavilion erected on the South Lawn of the White House. On the menu will be farro and roasted beet salad, butternut squash soup and sarsaparilla-braised short ribs.<\/p>\n
The B-52s, a rock group, were originally scheduled to perform, but they\u2019ve been replaced by military bands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain, so we made a few adjustments to the entertainment portion of the evening,\u201d first lady Jill Biden said.<\/p>\n
The scenes of celebration will be juxtaposed with the crisis in the Middle East, where Israel has increased its bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation against Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack. Hundreds of Palestinians were reported killed in a single day, and more bloodshed is expected as Israel prepares a ground invasion of the densely populated territory.<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there\u2019s \u201cno more important time than now\u201d to hold the state visit to demonstrate the strength of the U.S. relationship with Australia.<\/p>\n
The outbreak of war \u201cdoesn\u2019t stop the work that the president has continued to do, whether it\u2019s these diplomatic conversations, these important bilateral visits, or whether it\u2019s domestic issues right here in this country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Biden has previously hosted the leaders of France, South Korea and India for state visits. (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, 25 Oct: President Joe Biden pressed forward with this week\u2019s state visit from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, carving out time to nurture the relationship with a critical U.S. ally in the Pacific against the backdrop of escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas. The state visit, only the fourth since Biden took office, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-227005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227005\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}