Trump to welcome Australian PM to celebrate ‘100 years of mateship’

President Trump is slated to welcome the Australian prime minister to the White House later this month to celebrate “100 years of mateship,” the White House announced Thursday.

“The leaders will celebrate 100 years of mateship through war, peace, and prosperity, charting the course for the coming century of partnership,” the White House said in a statement.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will join Trump on Feb. 23 for talks on issues including “fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth, and expanding security and defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.”

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Trump’s relationship with Turnbull, the nation’s Liberal Party leader, got off to a rocky start in a tense first conversation over the phone in September where Trump bemoaned an Obama-era refugee resettlement deal with Australia. 

But since then Turnbull has said his conversations with Trump on fighting terrorism and disarming North Korea have been constructive and congenial. 

Australia has been a key U.S. ally since its federation in 1901, and has fought alongside U.S. forces in both world wars.