Australia PM Albanese arrives in PNG ahead of defence treaty signing

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, arriving in Papua New Guinea on Monday, said he expects to sign a defence treaty on Wednesday that lifts ties with Australia's closest Pacific neighbour to the equivalent of its security alliance with the United States.

Papua New Guinea marks 50 years of independence from Australia on Tuesday.

Albanese said a mutual defence treaty to be signed on Wednesday will increase interoperability between the two militaries and will be a symbol of Papua New Guinea looking to the future.

"It's an upgrade in our security relationship to a treaty level, to the sort of level that we have with the United States and our important allies," Albanese said in a television interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The United States struck a defence pact with Papua New Guinea in 2023, amid concern over China's security ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Albanese will travel to New York next week for the United Nations General Assembly, where he is seeking a first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Albanese will attend a reception hosted by Trump on Tuesday in New York, although a bilateral meeting between the leaders is yet to be scheduled, he said in a separate radio interview with ABC.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)