Malcolm Turnbull to meet Donald Trump for the first time

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will meet face-to-face with US President Donald Trump on May 4, after the hullabaloo over their January phone call.

Malcolm Turnbull to meet Donald Trump for the first time
Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull will meet on May 4.

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will meet face-to-face with US President Donald Trump on May 4, after the hullabaloo over their January phone call.



The two leaders will meet aboard the USS Intrepid in New York next week to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, hosted by the America-Australia Association, and will hold a bilateral meeting.

“The president looks forward to meeting the prime minister and showcasing the enduring bonds, deep friendship and close alliance the US has with Australia,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said overnight.

Following the announcement, Mr Turnbull tweeted on Wednesday morning: “I’m delighted to travel to the US in May to meet with @POTUS President Donald J Trump & attend 75th Battle of the Coral Sea commemorations.”

Mr Turnbull said the meeting will be an opportunity to reaffirm Australia and the US’s alliance and the US’s engagement with the Asia-Pacific.

He added the two nations have become the “closest allies, partners and friends”, united by shared democratic values.

The meeting comes at a time when the region faces a serious threat from a “reckless and dangerous regime” in North Korea, he said.

“I’m delighted to travel to the United States next month to meet with President Donald J Trump and to attend the 75th Battle of the Coral Sea commemorations in New York, hosted by the America-Australia Association,” Mr Turnbull said in a statement on his website this morning.

“Australia and the United States are enduring allies. Our alliance has been forged over many decades, through times of war and times of peace, securing our nations’ freedom and peace and security in the world.”

Mr Turnbull said the commemoration will honour veterans from both nations, including veterans of the Battle of the Coral Sea, and will celebrate the “First 100 Years of Mateship” between the United States and Australia.


Malcolm Turnbull to meet Donald Trump for the first time
Malcolm Turnbull will visit the US next week to meet President Donald Trump.
Former US ambassador Jeffrey Bleich hinted at the New York trip on Sky News on Sunday, saying he believed Mr Turnbull would meet with the president “in very short order” to mark the anniversary of the Coral Sea battle.

“All of these things I think reflect a growing appreciation of doctrines that are bipartisan, that we are safer, stronger, better together as an alliance than we would be as independent nations,” he said.


Malcolm Turnbull to meet Donald Trump for the first time
US President Donald Trump allegedly blasted Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull during a January 28 phone call. Picture: AP Photo/Alex Brandon, FileSource:AAP
Mr Turnbull also hinted at the meeting yesterday while speaking to reporters in the United Arab Emirates.

“Well, we’ll look forward to announcements being made in due course, but we’ve had very good meetings with Vice President (Mike) Pence and the Defence Secretary James Mattis just in the last few days,” he said.

“I look forward to continuing those discussions with President Trump and will do so at an early opportunity. But we’ll be making announcements very shortly about that.”

However flying to the US next week is likely to play havoc with the May budget preparations, taking Mr Turnbull out of the meetings in Canberra that are held just before final approval of the budget papers.


Malcolm Turnbull to meet Donald Trump for the first time
US Vice President Mike Pence (left) met with shakes hands with Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at Admiralty House in Sydney over the weekend. Picture: Jason Reed/Pool Photo via APSource:AP
According to a report in February, federal government advisers are split on the timing of the trip.

An Australian official said: “The anniversary of the beginning of the battle falls on the Thursday before the budget, and there’s usually some major decisions left to the Thursday and Friday before the budget papers are printed on the weekend. It’s a moving feast.”

Mr Turnbull’s face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump will be the first since their alleged volatile phone call in February over a refugee resettlement deal struck by the previous Obama administration. Mr Trump later tweeted his disapproval of a “dumb deal” to take refugees from Australia.
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