Trump heaps praise on Albanese at diplomatic dinner
Donald Trump heaped praise on Anthony Albanese at a ceremonial dinner ahead of the APEC summit in South Korea and spoke of cooperation between the United States and Australia on rare earths and other issues.
Eight leaders, including the prime ministers of New Zealand, Canada, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, attended the dinner held in the tourism city of Gyeongju.
The meeting was held in honor of Mr. Trump, who is currently preparing for a highly anticipated meeting with his Chinese counterpart in which trade is expected to come to the fore.
Mr. Trump said his talks with President Xi Jinping would last three or four hours and suggested he was close to a deal with China that would see the United States ease some punitive tariffs.
Addressing the assembled officials, Mr. Trump reserved some of his strongest praise for the Australian prime minister, whom he sat next to at the round table.
“We had a great meeting a week ago,” the US president told Mr Albanese.
“You’ve done a great job… We work together on rare earths, but we also work together on a lot of things,” he said.
Mr. Albanese warmly greeted his American counterpart and shook his hand as the leaders gathered for the official photo.
The Prime Minister’s visit to the White House last week was widely hailed as a success after the two leaders signed a multibillion-dollar deal that will give the US greater access to Australia’s critical mineral reserves.
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