“Not at all,” he said when asked if he was nervous about the meeting on Today this morning. 

“I’ve had really warm discussions with President Trump and I received a quite lovely letter, I’ve got to say, of invitation to attend the White House.”

Amidst the backdrop of the U.S. urging Australia to bolster its defense spending under Trump’s administration, Albanese is poised to receive encouraging defense-related news prior to his visit. A Pentagon review is anticipated to solidify the future of the AUKUS deal, alleviating prior fears that the agreement might have been at risk.

“Our defence and security relationship is so important through the AUKUS agreements,” Albanese said. 

“I’ve just been in the UK talking with Prime Minister (Sir Keir) Starmer and the Defence Minister (John) Healey and others there as well, about how important that is.”

“It’s a fantastic deal, as Prime Minister (James) Marape put it in this very corridor here just yesterday, the idea of one fence, two neighbours,” Albanese said.

“And it really strengthens the national sovereignty of both of our countries.

“It is our first alliance in more than seven decades, so it’s a very big deal.

“It says that should there be a common threat, we will combine our efforts to defend our respective nations and help each other out.”

But ahead of the diplomatic visit, Albanese was also keen to push an economic message as well.

He pointed to the US’s trade surplus with Australia – a clear and obvious reminder directed to the White House, where Trump has railed against nations with which Washington has a trade deficit.

“We have an important economic relationship as well,” Albanese said. 

“They’re major investors here in Australia, America enjoys a trade surplus with Australia.”