Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be the guest of honour at a state dinner at the White House later this year, proving yet another sign of his growing relationship with Donald Trump.

The invitation will see Mr Morrison become the first Australian leader since 2006 when John Howard was given the honour. Mr Howard was seen as a friend to the Bush administration.

Mr Morrison and Mr Trump have reportedly hit it off since the prime minister was re-elected in May.

The two leaders had a working dinner on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka last month, with Mr Morrison praising the alliance between the two nations just yesterday.

“More than a great power, the United States is an old and dear friend,” Mr Morrison said on board US aircraft carrier, Ronald Reagan, off the Queensland coast.

“As the President remarked to me very recently, up in Osaka, ‘we have been in a lot of battles’ and we have been together for more now than 100 years.”

Mr Morrison’s state dinner is believed to take place in September this year.