Malcolm Turnbull to talk terror with Barack Obama

Malcolm Turnbull will fly to the US this month to discuss global terrorism with Barack Obama.

Malcolm Turnbull will fly to the US this month to discuss global terrorism with Barack Obama.

Malcolm Turnbull will fly to the US this month to discuss global terrorism with Barack Obama amid growing concerns about the threat from Islamic State.

The Prime Minister will also meet congressional leaders in Washington DC during a two-day visit that follows his formal bilateral meeting with the US President last November.

The talks are also likely to canvass economic ties in the wake of last year’s agreement on the Trans Pacific Partnership, a regional trade deal across more than a dozen countries including Australia and the US.

Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss will be Acting Prime Minister during the period, amid speculation about whether he will announce his retirement at some point this year.

The visit to Washington DC will be the second of its type in less than two years, following Tony Abbott’s meeting with Mr Obama in the White House and meetings with members of the US Congress in June 2014.

Mr Abbott’s meeting formalised a deal to bring in 2500 US troops to Northern Australia under a rotation that also includes warships and planes, as negotiated by former prime minister Julia Gillard.

“Aussies know how to fight, and I like having them in a foxhole if we’re in trouble,” Mr Obama said at the time, as Mr Abbott sat alongside him in the Oval Office.

Mr Turnbull’s visit appears to be aimed at cementing that agreement and tightening co-operation on terrorism and cybersecurity. The Prime Minister met Mr Obama in the Philippines last November on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit.

Mr Turnbull is expected to be in Washington DC on Monday and Tuesday, January 18 and 19.