Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will next week sign a long-awaited pact to build a fleet of nuclear submarines, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday.

Albanese is due to travel to the signing ceremony, expected to be held on Monday in San Diego with U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the newspaper reported, citing its own sources.

A spokesperson for Albanese did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The three countries signed a trilateral security pact known as AUKUS in 2021, to the anger of France, which already had a deal to build conventionally powered submarines with Australia.

Albanese said in a speech last month the deal is "the single biggest leap in our defence capability in our history", suggesting it would also create jobs in Australia.

Regional stability required Australia to build its sovereign defence capability, including advanced manufacturing, he added.

"It's about our defence, but it is also about our industry policy, about our economy, about jobs here," he said in response to questions.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney. Editing by Gerry Doyle)