The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary has launched a comedic jab at one of Australia’s most well-known sporting names during a meeting with his diplomatic counterparts from Down Under.

The quip came from UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who — alongside UK Defence Secretary John Healey — is visiting an Australia to spruik a new Treaty which will lock both nations into a 50-year agreement related to the construction of Virginia-Class Nuclear Submarines.

The four leaders engaged warmly with one another at Admiralty House on Friday morning, exchanging some light banter about Aussie weather and the pedigree of our sporting exports.

“John, David, welcome. It’s fantastic to have you here at Admiralty House to look at the beautiful harbour behind us,” Mr Marles said.

“This is our oldest relationship, but with AUKUS and with a range of other matters... we have a contemporary strategic dimension to the relationship which really hasn’t been there for a long time.”

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was “fantastic” to be in the country that generated the former coach of his beloved Tottenham Hotspur football team, Ange Postecoglou.

“My football team... has lifted a trophy thanks to the leadership of an Aussie,” he said.

“It’s the first time in 17 years. Sadly, he didn’t keep his job, but that’s fine. We have kept ours.”

‘Partners’: Australia locks in 50-year pact

Australia has locked itself into a new 50-year treaty with one of its most influential global allies.

The UK government announced the signing of a new AUKUS-aligned pact with Australia in what it called a “commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

The AUKUS agreement has found itself on shaky ground as an increasingly erratic Trump administration undergoes a “review” of the defence pact announced in September 2021.

Spearheaded by American bureaucrat Elbridge Colby, the AUKUS review has shrouded the multibillion-dollar agreement in doubt since it began in June, prompting Australian and UK officials to announce their renewed enthusiasm for the tri-lateral security pact.

The announcement comes as the UK Foreign and Defence secretaries arrive in Australia to discuss the strengthening of the relationship between the two historically tied countries with their Australian counterparts.

Mr Marles said he was enthusiastic about the opportunity to “address shared strategic challenges in an increasingly complex and uncertain world”.

Senator Wong said “Australia and the United Kingdom are longstanding friends and partners”.

“We take the world as it is – but together, we are working to shape it for the better,” she said.

The treaty ratifies the UK’s commitment to produce components of the Virginia-class nuclear subs that Australia hopes to incorporate into its fleet by the early 2030s.

Mr Lammy said the ties that bind Australia and the UK together were like “no other”.

“In our increasingly volatile and dangerous world, our anchoring friendship has real impact in the protection of global peace and prosperity,” he said.

Mr Healey said AUKUS was “one of Britain’s most important defence partnerships”.

“This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half-century. Through the treaty, we are supporting high-skilled, well-paid jobs for tens of thousands of people in both the UK and Australia,” he said.

“Our deep defence relationship with Australia – from our work together to support Ukraine, share vital intelligence, and develop innovative technology – makes us secure at home and strong abroad.”

Mr Healey’s comments come as a UK carrier group joins the Australian Defence Force and various branches of the US military in Operation Talisman Sabre, a biannual war game exercise that takes place across Far North Queensland and Papua New Guinea over three weeks.

More than 3000 British military personnel are taking part in the exercise, which marks the first time in more than 20 years that a British aircraft carrier has entered Australian waters.