Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will visit the White House, President Obama announced Tuesday.
Obama said his Australian counterpart is likely to travel to Washington in the winter.
{mosads}”Unfortunately, it will probably be in the winter and it will be a little cold,” the president joked. “That’s always a little worrisome for folks Down Under, but we’ll try to make it as comfortable and as productive as possible.”
Obama made the announcement after his first in-person meeting with Turnbull at a summit in the Philippines. Turnbull unseated his predecessor Tony Abbott as prime minister in September.
The president thanked Australia for being a major contributor to the air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and both leaders spoke about “the need to ramp up pressure” on the group.
“We will continue, shoulder to shoulder, with the United States and our allies in the fight against this type of extremist violence, this type of terrorism,” Turnbull said.
Australia is also a party to the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade agreement that is a focal point of Obama’s trip to Asia.