Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to meet with former President Donald Trump on October 20. This will be their first formal meeting after a previous attempt at the G20 summit was cut short when Trump left early due to the conflict with Iran. Albanese and Trump briefly interacted during a recent gathering for world leaders in New York, where they shared a friendly moment captured in a selfie.

As the meeting approaches, Albanese has not disclosed whether he will present any offerings to Trump, a practice seen with other world leaders. He did, however, indicate that discussions will focus on negotiations regarding access to Australia’s critical minerals stockpiles. The Australian government has previously expressed intentions to increase the mining and processing of these valuable resources, hoping to leverage them for exemptions from U.S. trade tariffs.

"We will have those negotiations with President Trump in person," Albanese stated during an interview on ABC's Insiders. He emphasized Australia’s vast mineral resources, saying, "Australia has everything that is in demand, almost the entire periodic table, and whether you're looking at lithium, with the reserves that we have, or cobalt, or copper, or vanadium, we have great resources."

Albanese also mentioned that critical minerals could play a role in the AUKUS defense agreement with the U.S. and the U.K., as these minerals are essential for building defense equipment. He stressed the importance of maximizing the benefits of these resources for Australia, stating, "What we're talking about here is not giving anything to anyone — even our friends. What we are talking about is making sure that we maximize the return to Australia of that."

In addition to his upcoming meeting with Trump, Albanese recently had a "splendid" lunch with King Charles at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. During this visit, he ruled out holding a referendum to make Australia a republic while he is in office, stating, "I have made it clear that I wanted to hold one referendum while I was PM and we did that."

The prime minister faces criticism from the opposition Coalition, which has accused him of failing to meet with Trump sooner and not securing an exemption from the Trump administration's global trade tariffs. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash expressed concerns about the strength of the relationship between Australia and the U.S., saying, "I want to know what Mr. Albanese is going to be doing in relation to that, to secure something better for Australians and protect Australian jobs."

In a related development, the U.S. is set to impose a 100 percent tariff on imports of branded or patented pharmaceutical products starting October 1, unless the importing company is establishing a manufacturing plant in the U.S. This move could significantly impact Australia, as pharmaceutical products represent a major export market, valued at approximately $1.6 billion for the 2023-24 period. Albanese has refrained from commenting on Trump's recent address to the United Nations, where Trump urged European nations to adopt stricter migration policies. Albanese stated, "It's not my job to give a critique of other leaders. My job is to govern in Australia's national interest." He added that controlling borders is essential for building support for migration.