PROJEV - Antony Blinkem: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the State Department.
Prime Minister Albanese, Mrs. Haydon, it's great to have you with us today. My wife, Evan, and I are delighted - please be seated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Kevin, for the protocol tip. (Laughter.)
We're very pleased to welcome you both, to welcome all of our friends from the Underground to the top of the State Department. (Laughter.)
I think, as we all saw and heard so clearly yesterday, the Prime Minister is a true partner and a true friend of the United States and President Biden.
Since the Prime Minister has been in office, I have had the opportunity to admire up close his remarkable combination of strength, empathy and decency. One could not ask for more from a partner and friend.
And I know Jodie shares those traits equally -- your remarkable work now, especially in trying to deal with cancer, something so close to President Biden's heart, as you know. And we are grateful for your friendship.
Now there are a few things that - for most public officials, virtually everything - are known and public knowledge. But I want to share one thing that may not be so familiar to American audiences today. It may be familiar to Australians.
The Prime Minister and I share a deep affection for music. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, apart from "Prime Minister", he is also known as "DJ Albo". (Laughter.) He is known to spin a mean reel. And maybe someday we'll get a chance to hear it.
I also want to especially thank our partners, our friends, our co-hosts today: the Vice President, Vice President Harris, and Doug Emhoff. (Applause.)
It's - it's particularly appropriate because the vice president has been such a strong leader in our foreign policy, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, since the beginning of this administration, obviously also in response to the current crisis at the center. East.
And our other gentleman, Doug Emhoff, who has led our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry at home and around the world. Something that could not be more urgent at this moment. Thank you, Doug. (Applause.)
It's also wonderful to see members of Congress, members of the president's cabinet with us today. I know the President had a very good meeting on Capitol Hill a little while ago, and we're grateful for that.
And it is good to be with so many friends, especially in the midst of great pain and loss at home and around the world.
Our hearts, of course, go out to the loved ones who were killed last night in the horrific shooting in Lewiston, Maine, along with the many injured. We wish them a speedy recovery. And I know that the vice president shares that sentiment and will be speaking to him as well.
I have to tell you that this lunch today is particularly meaningful to me personally. My late stepfather, Samuel Pisar, survived the horrors of the Holocaust. He was one of 900 classmates in Bialystok, Poland; he is the only survivor.
And after enduring Treblinka, Dachau, Majdanek and Auschwitz, he found refuge with aunts and uncles who had left Poland for Australia before the war.
Australia was truly a happy country for him. He met teachers who inspired him, mentors who guided him. He rekindled his passion for life, for intellectual pursuits, and for the future he would eventually build here in the United States. In many ways, he told us, he was reborn in Australia.
And last year I had the opportunity to visit the University of Melbourne where he was studying. So there was a deep connection between my family and Australia for as long as I can remember. And I think his experience speaks in just one unique way about the kinship between our countries that goes back to our earliest days.
Our first interactions in the 1890s consisted primarily of American ships delivering vast quantities of spirits to very thirsty Australians. (Laughter.) That's a tradition we hope to maintain this afternoon. (Laughter.)
In the mid-20th century, as our relationship deepened and our formal alliance strengthened, Prime Minister Robert Menzies discovered that Australia and America shared a kinship that touched our souls.
Now we can see different constellations at night, but the United States and Australia see the world in much the same way.
We are both nations of immigrants. We braved the unforgiving oceans to get there. We both believe strongly in democracy, equality, opportunity for all our citizens, and the need to work day in and day out to make these ideals a reality.
This affinity is why our militaries have stood side by side for so many years, from the Coral Sea to Kandahar; why our societies invest in each other's economies; why our researchers and Fulbright scholars flock to each other's shores.
And as we embark on a new era of strategic cooperation, our own alliance continues to evolve to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of these times.
We promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, rooted in the shared commitment we have to a world that is free, that is open, that is safe, that is prosperous.
We're updating our defences in Australia. We are strengthening and linking partnerships across the region, including the Quad, including AUKUS, as well as demonstrating our strong support for institutions such as ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum.
And we stand for the principles at the heart of the United Nations Charter in Ukraine, where they are being challenged, where Australia remains the largest non-NATO contributor to the defence of Ukraine.
We are also building an innovation alliance for the 21st century, from shaping the future of artificial intelligence and quantum technologies to laying new undersea cables and deepening our partnership in space.
We know that at the heart of each of these initiatives are people who are connected by a common history, heritage, culture.
I have had the amazing privilege of experiencing this on several visits Down Under over the years.
In this country, too, we see the deep ties between us. Australia - and we thank you again - gave us Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie - (Laughter) - not to mention not one, not two, but three Hemsworth brothers.
Nick Cave performed in Washington just last month. DC residents enter Bluestone Lane to stay caffeinated. (Laughter.) Countless American children have laughed through stomach aches while watching the movie "Bluey" - and I can speak directly to that in the case of my own children. (Laughter.)
Every day, in so many different ways, in so many different activities, we remind ourselves that we are connected. And it is precisely because of our partnership that, even in challenging times - indeed, especially in challenging times, as the Prime Minister said yesterday - there is a profound reason for hope.
So, if we could start by raising a glass to two great friends and to the future we will continue to write together.
(Secretary Blinken offers a toast.)
Hello, everyone. Cheers.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Cheers.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: And now it gives me great pleasure and great honor to introduce the Vice President of the United States. (Applause.)
(Whitehouse.gov/USA)
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