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Australian PM Secures Fuel, Fertilizer Supplies During Visits to Malaysia and Brunei

During his quick visits to the two nations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his hosts pledged to “strengthen energy supply chain resilience.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speak at a joint press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Apr. 16, 2026.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has secured shipments of fuel and fertilizer from Malaysia and Brunei, as his government seeks to bolster its energy security following the disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.

Albanese visited Malaysia yesterday for a meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, with whom he affirmed a “shared commitment to open, rules-based trade in energy products” and committed “to promote open and stable trade flows between our two countries, including for essential energy supplies,” according to a joint statement issued after their meeting. They also pledged to “strengthen energy supply chain resilience.”

Albanese and Anwar said that their nations shared a “deep concern” over the conflict in the Gulf, including “the impact on energy supply chains, prices and flows of essential energy supplies.”

Speaking at a joint press conference after his meeting with Albanese, Anwar said that the country’s state energy firm ​Petronas would give priority to providing Australia with excess fuel supplies, Reuters reported.

“The priority ​is for domestic requirements… but here is where negotiations among friends ⁠are critical,” Anwar said. The Malaysian leader added that Malaysia could also potentially exchange urea for mineral phosphates from ​Australia.

The promise came a day after Albanese visited Brunei, where he and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah made a similar pledge to “strengthen energy supply chain resilience.” Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Australian leader said that Brunei had offered “guarantees” that it would not impose export restrictions on Australia.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Australia is also “likely to increase food supplies in return for more fertilizer” from the oil-rich sultanate, which supplies around 9 percent of Australia’s diesel and 11 percent of its fertilizer-grade urea.

“Acknowledging our........

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