WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump standing at attention with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (second from left) and his wife Jenny Morrison (left) during an official visit by the Australian PM at the White House in Washington, DC on Friday — AFP WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (AFP): Don't expect any awkward silences when President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison sit down to a rare state dinner at the White House on Friday.
They already agree on curbing asylum seekers, playing down climate change fears, pushing back against Iran, and excluding China's Huawei from their 5G phone markets.
This is "one of our strongest and most enduring relationships anywhere in the world," a senior Trump administration official said Thursday, asking not to be identified.
Australian flags are fluttering alongside the Stars and Stripes at the White House, where Morrison will get a red carpet, honor guard, joint press conference and then dinner in the beautiful Rose Garden.
Morrison may air Australia's nervousness about Trump's trade war with China. In June, he warned of smaller economies suffering collateral damage and of the global system coming "under real pressure."
But this is likely to be a relaxed meeting between political friends, albeit with a lot of pomp and ceremony.
Although the head of state in Australia is Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, not Morrison, the White House is giving this the most prestigious category of state dinner.
It's only the second time that has been granted in the Trump presidency and the first for an Australian premier here since John Howard in 2006.
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