Anthony Albanese has begun the last leg of the longest overseas trip of his prime ministership with a visit to a spectacular mosque in Abu Dhabi alongside partner Jodie Haydon as he seeks to deepen Australia’s ties to the Middle East.

Albanese arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Monday as the opposition continued to blast him for agreeing to deliver a keynote address at the British Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Before trip to a supermarket complex to celebrate the imminent start of the Australia-UAE free trade agreement, Albanese and Heydon visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the world’s largest mosques.

Capable of holding about 7800 worshippers, the gleaming white marble complex was opened in 2007 and is the resting place of the Emirati founding father Sheikh Zayed bin

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