Washington: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has secured a $13 billion critical minerals deal and a strong commitment to the AUKUS defence pact after a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump where the US president praised Australia as an “amazing ally” and embraced Albanese as a friend.
In a televised Q&A at the start of the working lunch, Trump was ambivalent about Australia’s level of defence spending – despite past pleas for Canberra to spend more – and relaxed about Chinese aggression in the region, saying he did not expect President Xi Jinping to make a play for Taiwan.
But the meeting was nearly overshadowed by an awkward exchange with Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, who sat opposite Trump at the table, and had to apologise to the president for past tweets calling him