President Lee Jae-myung and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed to strengthen cooperation on resilient energy supply chains and expand collaboration into defense during their third bilateral meeting in New York on Sept. 22. The leaders said South Korea and Australia should work closely to secure supplies of liquefied natural gas and oil products as they respond to an energy crisis stemming from the Middle East. Albanese described South Korea as a reliable partner in critical minerals and clean energy, while Lee asked about Australia’s renewable-energy policies for artificial-intelligence data centers and energy-price trends. The leaders also agreed to continue exploring new cooperation areas, meet on the sidelines of this year’s APEC and Group of 20 summits, and maintain close communication. Albanese invited Lee to visit Australia in the first half of next year.