Albanese said that Macron invited him to visit France while he is in Europe to attend a NATO summit in Spain.
“We need to restart. We’ve already had very constructive discussions. We’ve closed the arrangements that were in place on the submarines,” Albanese told ABC’s Leigh Sales at 7:30.
France temporarily withdrew its ambassadors from the United States and Australia. Macron accused Morrison of lying to him about the French contract that was awarded in 2016. Morrison denied the allegation.
US President Joe Biden told Macron weeks later that the US had been “clumsy” in its handling of the Australian submarine alliance. Biden said that he thought Macron had been briefed long before the deal was announced.
Legislators from the previous administration said the new government had paid too much.
Albanese pointed to estimates by bureaucrats before a Senate hearing in April that breaking the contract was expected to cost $5.5 billion.
He said his administration had reduced that cost to $3.4 billion through the cooperation of Macron and the French government.
“It’s important that that reset happens. France, of course, is central to power in Europe. But she is also a key power in the Pacific, also in our own region,” Albanese said.
“It’s just one of the reasons this needs to be a relationship that is nurtured, not damaged. We promise to do it. And next week’s visit is a very concrete sign of the repair that has already been done,” Albanese added.