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Biden scraps planned visit to Australia, Papua New Guinea to focus on debt limit talks

May 16, 2023

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President Joe Biden said Tuesday he’s curtailing his upcoming trip to the Indo-Pacific, scrapping what was to be a historic stop in Papua New Guinea as well as a visit to Australia for a gathering with fellow leaders of the so-called Quad partnership so he can focus on debt limit talks in Washington.

The scuttling of two of the three legs of the overseas trip is a foreign policy setback for an administration that has made putting a greater focus on the Pacific region central to its global outreach.

Biden said he still plans to depart on Wednesday for Hiroshima, Japan, for a Group of Seven summit with leaders from some of the world’s major economies. He will return to the U.S. on Sunday.

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