New Aus PM Albanese warmly welcomed by PM Modi and other Quad leaders in Tokyo

Tokyo, May 24 (PTI) Australia's new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was warmly welcomed by the Quad leaders at his first summit here on Tuesday, a day after he assumed office, with US President Joe Biden joking and saying "even if you fall asleep while you're here, it's OK." Albanese, 59, was sworn-in at a brief ceremony lasting in Government House, Canberra on Monday.

Australia's new centre-left Prime Minister took office a few hours before making a long flight to attend the Quad summit in Tokyo. He was sitting together with the world leaders, talking about climate change, and the challenges faced by the Indo-pacific region.

The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.

Biden expressed admiration that Albanese made the long flight right after winning his election as prime minister.

"I welcome you to your first Quad meeting," said Biden.

"Like I said, you got on a plane -- you were sworn in and got on a plane," Biden said.

So "if you fall asleep while you're here, it's OK, because I don't know how you're doing it. It's really quite extraordinary -- just getting off the campaign trail as well - congratulations on your election." Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Albanese for his election win and said: "First of all, I congratulate Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and extend my best wishes for winning the elections. Your presence amongst us 24 hours after taking the oath reflects the strength of Quad's friendship and your commitment towards it."

At the Quad meet, Australian Prime Minister Albanese focused on climate change "My government is committed to working with your countries. The new Australian government gives priority to taking action on climate change and building a more resilient Indo-Pacific region through economic, cyber, energy, health and environmental security," he said.

"My government will set a new target to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, putting us on track for net-zero emissions by 2050," Albanese said.

In a statement ahead of the meeting, Albanese said: "The Quad Leaders' Summit brings together four leaders of great liberal democracies - Australia, Japan, India, and the United States of America - in support of a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific," the BBC reported.

Albanese has said the Quad alliance is an absolute priority for Australia. The report added that this meeting comes at a crucial and tense time in the region with a growing Chinese influence that's making Australia and its allies nervous.

The Quad summit is hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.