On Tuesday, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in Washington that Australia will soon make its second billion-dollar payment to support U.S. nuclear submarine shipyards, ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s official visit next week.

The AUKUS agreement to transfer nuclear-powered submarines to Australia is being reviewed by the Pentagon, although Australia has expressed confidence the deal, which also includes Britain, will proceed.

In its first phase, Australia has pledged 3 billion U.S. dollars to boost U.S. submarine production rates, to later allow the sale of three Virginia submarines to Canberra, with a 2025 deadline for the first $2 billion.

“We’ve made a billion dollars. The plan is to provide another billion dollars shortly,” Conroy told reporters in Washington

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