<span style="color: #222222;">Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Papua New Guinea (PNG) counterpart James Marape have signed a bilateral security agreement in Canberra today. Marape at a joint press conference said that the deal with Australia showed the two countries were brother and sister nations. Albanese reiterated the relationship by saying that Australia had no closer friends than Papua New Guinea for their interests going forward.<br />''<br />''The pact allows Australia to provide the Pacific state with more assistance for its police and support for its legal system. PNG's judiciary, public service and borders were established by Australia before PNG became an independent nation 48 years ago. This comes after PNG signed a defence deal with the United States in May to upgrade its military bases.</span><br />