AUSTRALIA was one of the only four non-NATO countries to have received a special invitation to participate in the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Europe.
The Annual NATO Leaders’ Summit will be held in the Baltic State of Lithuania, on Russia’s border on July 11 to 12.
Earlier in the week, Albanese said he would be ‘very pleased’ to join the gathering of the world’s largest military alliance.
He will attend the event as one of NATO’s Asia-Pacific partners.
This will be the second time Australia will join a NATO Summit after the country first received an invitation in 2022.
Albanese’s New Zealand counterpart, Chris Hipkins, confirmed his attendance.
Australia and New Zealand are not NATO members but managed to build a decades-long relationship with the Western Alliance.
The confirmation of Albanese’s attendance ended speculations that he might not be able to attend the event due to several travel commitments, including the coronation of King Charles III in London next month.
Australia has a decades-long history of significant contributions and strategic partnerships with NATO despite being a non-member of the world’s largest military alliance.
