Simon Birmingham ‘welcomes’ Anthony Albanese’s trip to Papua New Guinea

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham has “welcomed” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to Papua New Guinea as it “drives those relationships forward”. Mr Albanese is in Papua New Guinea ahead of his historic trek along the Kokoda Trail in the lead-up to ANZAC Day. The Prime Minister touched down just a day after China’s Foreign Minister flew out of Port Moresby. “It’s welcomed that the Prime Minister is in Papua New Guinea,” Mr Birmingham told Sky News Australia. “The visit just before Prime Minister Albanese’s of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is well and truly a reminder that the battle for the relationships and positions of different countries across our region is a constant one. “There will be a consistent attempt to try to shape and frame those relationships by others … in different ways, and we need to make sure that Australia, together with all our other friends and partners, are there driving those relationships forward in ways that underpin respect for the sovereignty of those countries.”