Third bilateral talks following G7 and APEC summits

President Lee Jae-myung and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands ahead of their bilateral talks at the Ban Ki-moon Hall of South Korea's UN Mission in New York on Tuesday (local time). [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae-myung and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands ahead of their bilateral talks at the Ban Ki-moon Hall of South Korea's UN Mission in New York on Tuesday (local time). [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae-myung met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly high-level segment in New York on Tuesday (local time).

It was the third time Lee and Albanese have held bilateral talks, following meetings at the G7 and APEC summits.

Cheong Wa Dae communications chief Seong Gi-hong said in a written briefing that the two leaders "exchanged candid views on matters of shared interest, including energy supply chains and defense industry cooperation, as well as the international situation."

The two leaders reaffirmed that South Korea and Australia are critical partners in supplying key energy resources — including liquefied natural gas and petroleum products — as they work together to address the energy crisis stemming from the Middle East.

They also agreed to cooperate closely to build a stable and resilient regional supply chain.

During the talks, Albanese said South Korea is a trusted partner for Australia in areas such as critical minerals and clean energy, adding that there is significant potential to further develop bilateral cooperation by combining South Korea's manufacturing capabilities with Australia's abundant natural resources. Lee said he wanted to explore possibilities for cooperation and asked about Australia's policies on renewable energy use for AI data centers and recent energy price trends.

Seong said the two leaders, as value-sharing partners amid global uncertainty, agreed to continue expanding cooperation across a wide range of areas.


sang@heraldcorp.com