Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described his first phone call with Canada’s new prime minister Mark Carney as “excellent”, as he welcomes the country’s interest in Australia’s radar technology.
“We both joined the call was convened by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Macron on Saturday evening to talk about Ukraine but this was a one-on-one conversation that was extensive [and] a good opportunity for us to get to know each other personally,” Albanese told a Brisbane press conference.
Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney was named Canada’s new prime minister last week.Credit: AP
“Canada of course has an excellent relationship with Australia and one of the things that the prime minister confirmed is that he is looking at what we have which is our operational radar network technology.”
Albanese praised the “world-leading technology” as an example of Australia’s innovation.
“This will be a significant export if this deal is finalised, he certainly spoke to me about the over-the-horizon radar technology that Canada is interested in purchasing from Australia.”
Without mentioning the US, Trump or tariffs, Albanese said it was “important that we diversify our trade relationships”.
When a reporter asked specifically about the possible fraying of the US-Canada relationship, the PM said he was focused on Australia-Canada ties.
“Obviously, there are issues taking place, particularly between Canada and the United States and I wouldn’t have expected that to have been happening in my lifetime, but we have a very separate relationship with Canada and it’s a very good one.”
