First stop White House as Australia’s new ambassador to US Arthur Sinodinos meets Trump

New US ambassador Arthur Sinodinos wastes no time presenting his credentials to the president.

Arthur Sinodinos, right, meets US President Donald Trump. Picture: Supplied

Australia’s new Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos says he is “humbled” to represent his country in overseeing the relationship with its most important ally.

Mr Sinodinos, who arrived in the US this week, met with Donald Trump at the White House on Friday to present his credentials.

“It was an honour to present my credentials this morning, with my wife Elizabeth, as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States to President Trump,” the former Senator said.

“I could not be more proud or humbled to represent Australia as custodian of our most important bilateral relationship.”

Mr Sinodinos replaces former Ambassador Joe Hockey at a time when relations between the two countries are strong with no major bilateral disputes.

After initially clashing with then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the refugee deal in early 2017, Mr Trump has since adopted a positive view of the relationship with Australia.

In 2018 he exempted Australia from his new steel and aluminium tariffs and last year he threw a rare state dinner in Washington to honour Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Mr Sinodinos first came to public attention during his highly successful stint as chief of staff to the then prime minister John Howard from 1997 to 2006.

After several years in the business world, he was elected as a liberal Senator from 2011 to 2019 serving for awhile as a Cabinet minister in the Turnbull government.