Australia’s Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd has made “direct contact” with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump amid questions of his suitability for the post.
Trump is due to be inaugurated as President of the United States on Jan. 20 following his election win in November.
Pressed further if Rudd had dealt with Trump directly, Albanese responded, “Well, there has been direct contact and that is a good thing that that has occurred.”
Rudd has faced scrutiny over previous social media comments that heavily criticised Trump, but has been working to ensure it has no impact on bilateral ties.
Rudd and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will travel to Washington next week to attend Trump’s inauguration.
Albanese expressed confidence that Australia had the right diplomatic representation in place.
“I am confident. I’m focused on Australia’s interests and so are Australia’s diplomatic representatives, including our Ambassador to the United States,” Albanese said.
“I note that Penny Wong is one of the few representatives of foreign governments who will attend the inauguration along with other foreign ministers from Quad countries. I think that’s a very good thing.”
Rudd has also attended both Republican and Democratic conventions last year.
Its an issue the federal opposition has continued to focus on.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Penny Wong had been “completely at odds” with the United States over a number of issues in recent months.
