Anthony Albanese and his team, including ambassador Kevin Rudd, should be very pleased with their meeting with President Donald Trump. They achieved the main objective, which was to get in and out without mishap.

Trump lavished the prime minister with praise and Albanese lavished back without appearing sycophantic. He maintained his dignity with charm and good humour. It was definitely a 10/10 in diplomatic and political terms.

Donald Trump lavished Anthony Albanese with praise; the prime minister replied without appearing sycophantic. Credit: Getty Images

The agreement on rare earths development and processing is a very good step forward. Australia has been pressing for this for a long time. Back in February 2018, I agreed with Trump, then in his first term as president, that the United States and Australia would work together on the extraction, processing and development of rare earths and strategic minerals but until now, not much progress has been........

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