The Trump administration has expressed regret for having to postpone a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese but has failed to confirm when the delayed face-to-face will take place.
Albanese’s first meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada in mid-June fell through when Trump left early to oversee the US strikes on Iran.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong — who is in Washington this week for Quad talks between Australia, the United States, Japan and India — spoke privately with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the failed meeting.
Wong said Rubio “expressed his regret” that the meeting did not go ahead while she acknowledged that “these things do happen”.
“He expressed his regret for the fact that the meeting had to be rescheduled and I obviously said we completely understood,” she told Today.
“I think the world understood the president had a fair bit to do ahead of what was occurring in the Middle East.”
Following the G7 Summit, Albanese chose not to attend the NATO Summit in the Hague in late June, where Trump was in attendance.
Wong sidestepped confirming whether or not there was a date on the books for a meeting between Albanese and Trump.
“We are working together on rescheduling the meeting. We’re both looking forward to the president and the prime minister meeting,” she said.
Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have all secured visits to the US.
With still no date for a meeting confirmed, concerns are growing around key issues threatening relations between the two countries.
The US has demanded Australia raise its defence spending to 3.5 per cent, adding that if Europe could lift spending to five per cent then so could Australia.
Trump has also ordered a review of AUKUS, the alliance between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, which Albanese has consistently tried to downplay.
“It’s a good deal for all three countries and we understand that this is normal practice for a new administration to want to look at these sorts of agreements,” Wong told Today.
The US’ 50 per cent tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium remain the headline of trade discussions.
Wong, ahead of her trip to Washington, stressed the US was “our closest ally and principal strategic partner”.
“We will continue to work together to further our important economic and security partnership and advance our mutual interests,” she said in a statement on Monday.
