During Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Washington this week, the United States and Australia are expected to announce agreements to collaborate on key resource extraction and strengthen Pacific Island nations’ infrastructure, according to a top official in the Biden administration.

According to what Albanese told reporters in Washington on Monday, his agenda at the White House begins on Tuesday, Washington time, and will focus on how Australia’s security relationship with the United States is expanding into an economic and technological collaboration.

In addition to a $5 billion investment from Microsoft in Australia, the two leaders will discuss the specifics of expanded cyber security collaboration, according to an official from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden.

The official stated that many announcements, including the infrastructure project, will be made to demonstrate the United States and Australia’s collaboration in the Pacific. This is because both leaders believe it is “imperative” to focus on the Pacific Islands, even while the United States manages the problem in the Middle East.

On Tuesday, the most important item on Albanese’s agenda will be establishing a critical minerals task group to increase private investment in Australia’s rare earth industry and decrease the world’s dependency on China. Albanese stated that Australia is interested in collaborating with businesses in the United States.

“We are in a great position as the world’s largest supplier of lithium, for example, as well as having a considerable supply of cobalt, vanadium, copper, and nickel. According to what he said to reporters in Washington on Monday, the minerals that will be necessary to power the world in the 21st century are items that Australia has considerable amounts of.

This week, there is not likely to be any statement on agreements reached with the United States Department of Defense. Analysts from Australia have stated that the defense and automotive industries in the United States are significant purchasers of rare earths and that a long-term sales contract might lessen the risk investors face when constructing Australian processing.

On November 4, Albanese will go to China, Australia’s most important trading partner and the country’s top consumer of iron ore.

After China reached a security deal with the Solomon Islands, the United States of America responded by signing a defense cooperation agreement with Papua New Guinea, which is located to the north of Australia, and opening USAID offices in the region this year.

The South China Sea, where tensions between China and the Philippines are growing, will also be a topic of discussion between Albanese and Biden. He stated that he would meet with members of the United States Congress on each day that he would be in Washington to emphasize the significance of the AUKUS defense technology relationship between the United States and Britain. By 2040, the alliance intends to sell Australian submarines powered by nuclear energy and develop a new class within Australia.

Obstacles in the United States Congress and export controls in the United States might slow down the accord’s implementation. On Friday, the administration of Vice President Joe Biden sent Congress a proposal for a supplementary budget that includes steps to uphold U.S. commitments under AUKUS.