FOREIGN Affairs Minister Julie Bishop Bishop has categorically denied the refugee resettlement deal with the United States was part of a “people swap”.

Speaking in Washington after meeting US vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Bishop categorically denied the refugee resettlement deal with the United States was part of a “people swap”.

The assertion put her at odds with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who said on Tuesday night that he did not have a problem if people wanted to categorise it as a people swap deal.

“It was beneficial to the US, and it was beneficial to us,” Mr Dutton said.

But Ms Bishop said: “That’s not the way I would categorise it.”

“Australia is a very generous nation when it comes to resettling those who are found to be refugees from all over the world. We’ll continue to do so,” she said.

“We are seeking to resettle a number of people who came via the people-smuggling trade and have been in Nauru in particular with the United States. But we will continue to take refugees from across the world, as we’ve always done.”

Ms Bishop has invited US vice-president Mike Pence to visit Australia “as soon as possible.”

Discussions are also underway to lock in a time for Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to meet President Trump face-to-face in Washington later this year.

But so far there’s no talk of President Trump making a trip Down Under.

TRUMP DOWN UNDER

Is Australia trying to avoid the kind of embarrassing backlash British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing in the UK?

Possibly. In January, thousands of protesters took to the streets across the UK and more than 1.5 million people signed a petition to try to stop Trump making a state visit after May issued an invitation to the new US President.

May stood by the invite despite the opp

Ms Bishop said Prime Minister Turnbull and President Trump would meet and “continue to engage as leaders of our nations always have and always will”.

She said it was important for a senior member of the Trump administration to visit Australia and the pacific region and had issued an invitation to Vice President Pence during their meeting.

Secretary Mattis had already been in Korea and Japan, she said.

“Secretary of Defence [James Mattis] has been in South Korea and Japan ... and I’m hoping that the vice-president will also be able to visit Australia when he tours the region,” she said.

VICE PRESIDENTIAL VISITS

If Vice President Pence does visit Australia, it will be the first time a VP has visited before a US President in nearly 30 years.

Australia didn’t see a visit from a US president for two decades between 1969 and 1989 while Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were in office.

Nixon sent his Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1970, Ford sent Nelson Rockefeller in 1976, Carter sent Walter Mondale in 1978 and Reagan sent George Bush senior in 1982.

While Bush senior was in the Oval Office, his Vice President Dan Quayle visited Australia in 1989 — two years before Bush himself made the trip.

Barack Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden made just one trip to Australia, in mid-2016, as the Obama administration was on its way out, while George W. Bush’s deputy Dick Cheney visited Australia in 2007.

Bill Clinton’s Vice President Al Gore never visited Australia while in office.

BISHOP DENIES DEAL IS A ‘PEOPLE SWAP’

A ‘VERY WARM’ AND ‘FRIENDLY’ DISCUSSION

The Minister’s visit follows soon after the controversy about the now infamous “worst call” between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Ms Bishop described her first face-to-face meeting with the Vice President as “very warm” and “friendly”.

“We spoke about many things.

“The meeting went longer than scheduled, which is always a good sign, because we had so many issues to discuss. And we exchanged information and ideas and it was a positive, constructive, discussion. We spoke about areas where we’re working together, areas where we have common challenges and where Australia and the United States can hopefully solve some of the issues confronting our region and globally.

“We are very strong strategic and defence partners.

“We are very strong economic partners.

“It’s a great basis upon which to strengthen this already remarkable relationship.”

Speaking to News Corp Australia, Ms Bishop said top of the agenda was the Australia-US relationship and the upcoming US review on Syria and Iraq sought by the new Trump administration.

“Obviously we have a deep interest in any change of strategy or thinking on that (Syria and Iraq) so that was one of the issues that we discussed,” she said. “I took the opportunity to provide our thinking and ideas on what we’d like the review to address.”

Ms Bishop said both military and political solutions were discussed as part of a whole range of issues that need to be considered in determining an outcome in Iraq and Syria.

“We have a very close defence and military strategic relationship with the US and the administration has been expressing its appreciation for the role Australia plays,” she said.

Asked about Australia’s commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Ms Bishop said that Australia was “very keen to maintain the principals and the spirit of the TPP both economically and strategically.”

Mr Trump walked away from the ambitious, 12-nation trade deal brokered by the Obama administration last month. He declared an end to the era of multinational trade agreements that have defined global economics for decades.

In her first face-to-face meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Ms Bishop is also expected to discuss Australia’s Mideast military commitment, as well as a regional response to North Korea.