Senator Penny Wong will attend U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in a show of the “steadfast alliance” between Australia and the United States, becoming the first Australian foreign minister in recent memory to receive an invitation.
Wong has been invited to the ceremony in Washington on Jan. 20, where she will meet members of the Trump administration and Congress during her visit.
Australia’s ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd has also been invited.
The former Labor prime minister has spent the past 12 months meeting people in Trump’s circle, as well as building relationships with members of the Republican Party and senior congressional members.
The government is in talks to try to lock in a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting alongside the inauguration amid reports Wong’s Japanese counterpart has also been invited.
The foreign minister said she was “honoured” and the invitation to the former president’s inauguration was a demonstration of the “steadfast alliance.”
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“The United States is Australia’s vital ally, closest global partner, and most important strategic relationship,” she said.
“This early visit will be an important opportunity to discuss how we can advance the benefits of our strong economic and security partnership and expand our co-operation.”
Rudd has previously declared he is ready to work with Trump after having made a number of criticisms of the president-elect before his ambassadorial appointment.
These included branding Trump a “traitor.”
Following Trump’s election victory and the resurfacing of Rudd’s previous comments, Trump called Rudd “a little bit nasty” and “not the brightest bulb.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke with Trump following his election victory.
Albanese has said he is confident the president-elect can be convinced against imposing tariffs on the nation’s exports due to the trade surplus the United States has with Australia.
Concerns have been raised over Trump’s position on the AUKUS partnership, which was struck by the Biden administration.
But leading U.S. congressmen have rushed to declare bipartisan support for the agreement, under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
