Albanese briefly meets Trump after full visit confirmed
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More news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has posted a beaming photo alongside US President Donald Trump, after the pair met in person for the first time.
Albanese spoke to Trump briefly at a reception hosted by the president and First Lady Melania Trump in New York on Wednesday morning (Australian Time) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
It was the first in-person meeting between the pair, though they have held multiple phone calls since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Alongside the post, which shows both leaders smiling in a selfie taken by Albanese, the prime minister wrote that it was “good to chat” with his US counterpart.
Government sources have described the brief conversation, which came after confirmation Albanese will visit Trump in Washington next month, as positive.
Hours before the meeting, Trump used a speech to the UN General Assembly to rail against migration, which he said was sending European nations “to hell”, and describe climate change as a “con job”.
What they said: “Good to chat with President Donald Trump at US welcome reception for world leaders attending United Nations General Assembly hosted by [President Trump] and [First Lady Melania Trump],” Albanese said on Instagram.
Albanese briefly meets Trump after full visit confirmed
The news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has briefly met US President Donald Trump in person for the first time, after confirmation the pair will sit down in Washington next month.
The context: On Wednesday morning, the pair spoke at a reception for roughly 100 world leaders hosted by Trump in New York, where the UN General Assembly leaders’ week is underway.
The pair discussed Albanese's upcoming visit to Washington, where they will sit down for their first bilateral meeting on 20 October.
The reception was attended by leaders only, meaning staff were not allowed into the event, where Trump was present for around an hour and a half.
Albanese was left off Trump’s bilateral schedule at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, hours before it was confirmed he will return to the US for next month's meeting.
Earlier today, Albanese said Trump had agreed to the visit, which has also been confirmed by the White House, “some time ago” but would not be drawn on whether the president had guaranteed the AUKUS agreement's future.
“What I do is have discussions with President Trump that are diplomatic and where we have discussions with each other, I don't broadcast everything,” he told reporters.
“I broadcast what we agreed to.”
Albanese has been joined by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Communications Minister Anika Wells in New York throughout the week.
Albanese met French President Emmanuel Macron, who also recognised the State of Palestine this week, on the sidelines of the summit.
The sources: Capital Brief sources, Anthony Albanese Instagram post
