Key Points
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirms $1 billion defence deal with Germany.
- Australia will supply 100 Boxer heavy weapon carrier vehicles.
- The deal is one of the biggest defence sales in Australia’s history.
The prime minister has touched down in Europe, confirming a deal worth more than $1 billion to sell Australian-made armoured vehicles to Germany ahead of talks at a NATO summit.
Anthony Albanese landed in Berlin on Sunday night, German time, before a scheduled meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday.
He said Australia would sign a deal to deliver 100 Brisbane-made Boxer heavy weapon carriers to Germany.
“This is one of the biggest defence sales in Australia’s history – and is worth over $1 billion to the Australian economy in the production and supply of these vehicles," Mr Albanese said.
“The agreement will boost Australia’s sovereign defence industry, secure local jobs and contribute to Australia’s economic growth.
"This deal secures well-paid jobs in Queensland and across the country.”
The prime minister's one-on-one meeting with Mr Scholz will take place before he travels to the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
The talks with the German leader 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.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Germany where he is meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine
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.
The Boxer heavy weapon carriers are produced in Brisbane. Source: Supplied / Australian Defence Force
The three-day visit to Europe will also include a meeting between Mr Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
He will also meet with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, who have 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.
'Militarism of Europe': Paul Keating criticises NATO leaders
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."
