The White House has foreshadowed a warm and positive meeting between the pair that will focus on the core interests of national and economic security.
“President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese have a great relationship,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said on Monday.
North America correspondent Michael Koziol reports that Trump is expected to use the meeting to discuss regional efforts to combat Chinese economic coercion and military aggression, with administration officials last week challenging allies, including Australia, to help fight Beijing’s stranglehold on the global critical minerals supply chain.
A US official with knowledge of AUKUS and defence relationships, who is not authorised to speak publicly, said they did not anticipate any significant changes to the defence pact inked in 2021.
“Especially given what’s going on in China, we want our friends, like Australia, to have the resources they need to protect themselves. We need our allies,” the official told this masthead.
“It means that Australia has to be a priority. There has been no indication so far that we’d be looking to withdraw from [AUKUS]. Those are just not conversations that are happening.”
Read more on this story here
