Malcolm Turnbull is expected to kick off a series of bilateral conversations at the G20 summit this weekend with a meeting with the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe.
Australian officials believe the meeting, pencilled in for Saturday in Antalya, will focus on Japan’s current interest in bidding to build Australia’s next fleet of submarines, as well as broader regional issues.
The Abe meeting follows representations in Berlin on Friday from the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on behalf of the German firm ThyssenKrupp, which is also pitching for the Australian submarines contract.
Turnbull was also expected to meet the French president, Francois Hollande, over the course of the G20 summit.
France, like Germany and Japan, has a close commercial interest in the Australian submarines contract.
But it is unclear whether or not a series of violent incidents in Paris on Friday night will impact Hollande’s presence at the G20 meeting. The French president closed the borders after a series of terror attacks which were ongoing in Paris on Friday night.
The G20 gathering will focus on strategies to boost global growth, and boost trade, but the ongoing conflagration in Syria is also expected to be a major issue at this year’s summit in Turkey.
There are some reports the US president Barack Obama may meet the Russian president Vladimir Putin over the course of the summit as part of a multi-pronged effort to thrash out a political solution.
In his meetings in Berlin on Friday, Turnbull and Merkel discussed the Syrian conflict, and the Australian prime minister subsequently called for a political solution to end what he characterised as a “catastrophic” situation on the ground.
The G20 summit will also consider coordinated strategies to counter violent extremism.
Turnbull, who departs Berlin for Antalya early Saturday morning local time, is expected to meet the Chinese president Xi Jinping over the course of the weekend – but he is not expected to have a one-on-one discussion with the US president until the Apec summit in Manila.
Apec will follow the G20, and will have a significant trade focus, including an event with signatories to the controversial trade pact, the trans-Pacific partnership.
Turnbull will conclude his 10-day overseas visit at the East Asia summit in Kuala Lumpur, before returning to Australia on 23 November.
