Penny Wong will be one of the first to meet with Trump’s national security team

Penny Wong will be one of the first foreign ministers in the world to meet with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after attending Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined her Quad counterparts Takeshi Iwaya of Japan, left, and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of India at Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington. Picture: X

Fresh from attending Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony inside the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, Foreign Minister Penny Wong will hold meetings with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Senator Wong will be one of the first foreign ministers to have a meeting with the new national security team in Washington, where she will have an opportunity to establish an effective working relationship, gauge the new administration’s outlook for the Indo-Pacific and solidify support for the AUKUS partnership.

Senator Wong is also due to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with counterparts from the US, India and Japan after the leaders of the Quad nations met with Joe Biden near his hometown of Wilmington in Delaware in September.

Senator Wong was sitting a few rows back at the inauguration ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda for Mr Trump’s address while Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, was seated with the diplomatic corps as part of the overflow in the Emancipation Hall.

“A pleasure to accompany Australia’s Foreign Minister on this historic day, as President Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States,” Dr Rudd posted on X. “Australia remains a steadfast ally to the United States, and I look forward to working closely with his administration in the months ahead.”

Senator Wong also posted that she had joined Quad foreign ministers Takeshi Iwaya of Japan and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of India to “represent Australia at President Trump’s inauguration”.

“The United States is Australia’s closest ally. I look forward to working together with the new administration to deliver on our shared interests,” she said.

After arriving in Washington, Senator Wong welcomed the participation of Australian business leaders in events with Mr Trump in the lead-up to his inauguration, including Anthony Pratt, Gina Rinehart and James Packer.

“I think it is a good thing for the Australian business community to engage with an incoming administration,” she said. “We welcome the engagement of so many parts of the Australian community with the new administration … this relationship is so important to us, both economically and in terms of our national security.”

The billionaire chair of Pratt Industries, Mr Pratt was seated next to America’s next Attorney-General Pam Bondi at the black tie candlelight dinner with Mr Trump on the eve of his swearing-in ceremony.

Ms Rinehart also attended the Starlight Ball on Monday night local time after Mr Trump had signed-off on dozens of day one executive orders. The event was one of three balls the President attended along with his wife, Melania, including the Commander in Chief Ball and the Liberty Ball.

Mr Packer was revealed last week to have dined with Mr Trump and his key adviser and world’s richest man, Elon Musk, at the President’s Mar-a-Lago resort after his girlfriend Renee Elizabeth Blythewood shared footage to Instagram.

Senator Wong told 5AA radio in Adelaide that she was “pleased at the extent of the bipartisan support for AUKUS” and would “outline very clearly to the Americans the benefits to them of this partnership”.