But Albanese said other world leaders, including the president of South Korea and prime minister of Japan, were not at NATO and suggested his critics were being hypocritical.
鈥淚鈥檝e been to the United States on five separate occasions … as prime minister,鈥 Albanese said on Sky News on Tuesday. 鈥淎nd I do note that the same people who constantly say I should do more international travel, every time I do, are critical of it as well.鈥
Albanese鈥檚 planned meeting with Trump at the G7 this month was billed as a chance for him to build rapport with the president and make the case for the AUKUS nuclear submarines program and better treatment for Australian exporters and investors in the US.
But the meeting was cancelled when Trump returned to Washington to deal with the situation in the Middle East, and the president did not call Albanese despite doing so for other world leaders who also missed out.