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Australian and British ministers will meet to take stock of progress on planned nuclear-powered submarines and discuss ways to support Pacific island countries “who are on the front line of the climate emergency”. The UK also expects the free trade agreement to come into effect in the next few months.

The British government has issued a statement that provides more details on planned talks between the Australian foreign affairs and defence ministers Penny Wong and Richard Marles and their British counterparts James Cleverly and Ben Wallace over the next two days.

The big meeting of all four ministers – annual talks known as Aukmin – will take place tomorrow at the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth “to discuss the countries’ long-term cooperation to promote prosperity in the Indo-Pacific as well as broader cooperation on climate, security and trade”.

But today Wong and Cleverly will have a foreign affairs-focused meeting while Marles and Wallace have their own defence-focused talks. The British government’s statement says:

Following bilateral talks with their opposite numbers on Wednesday, the group will visit Salisbury Plain to see Australian and UK troops training Ukrainian soldiers. The joint programme, which also involves forces from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Lithuania, and the Netherlands, is part of an acceleration of efforts by the UK and allies to ensure Ukraine wins the war and secures a lasting peace.

Last month up to 70 ADF members left Darwin for the training mission in the UK.

Wallace, the UK’s defence secretary, described Australia as “our close and valued defence partner, with historic ties spanning the decades”. He said the Australian defence force was “providing vital training for the brave Ukrainian men and women here in the UK, learning the skills they will need to return and defend their country”.

Cleverly, the foreign secretary, added:

In an increasingly volatile world, we are pursuing a forward-looking agenda with Australia as a trusted partner and friend. Together we are promoting prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific, boosting trade, and pursuing our vital climate targets.

The statement says the ministers will “look at how the UK and Australia can step up their commitments to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, including by transitioning to renewable energy, promoting low-emission technologies as part of a joint Clean Tech partnership the two countries signed in 2021, as well as supporting island states in the Pacific who are on the front line of the climate emergency”. It adds:

More widely, they will take stock of progress on Aukus – a defence and security pact between the UK, US, and Australia which will deliver a nuclear-powered submarine capability to Australia. They will also continue discussions on the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a £9 trillion free trade bloc, and progress towards the UK ratifying the bilateral free trade agreement with Australia, expected to come into force in spring this year.

(The UK’s spring is Australia’s autumn, so that means the next few months.)