FED: Ministers fly to Washington for Ausmin talks

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-2009
FED: Ministers fly to Washington for Ausmin talks

CANBERRA, April 7 AAP - Foreign Minister Stephen Smith leaves for Washington on Tuesday
for annual defence and policy talks with the United States.

Mr Smith and Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will sit down with US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday for the annual Australia-US
Ministerial (AUSMIN) meeting.

While Prime Minister Kevin Rudd met US President Barack Obama twice in recent weeks,
it will be the first formal discussions with Australia's closest ally.

AUSMIN is the key forum for foreign policy, defence and strategic discussions on the
Australian-US alliance.

Mr Smith and Mr Fitzgibbon said the first AUSMIN meeting with the Obama administration
reflected "the enduring strategic importance of the alliance".

"Australia's alliance with the United States continues to be an indispensable part
of Australia's security and defence arrangements," they said in a statement.

The agenda will include the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, security in the Asia-Pacific
region, and the nuclear threat posed by North Korea's provocative weekend rocket launch.

The ministers will discuss the renewed focus on nuclear disarmament, spearheaded by
Mr Rudd last year and embraced by President Obama in a speech at the weekend.

"The talks will include Australia and the United States shared goal of a world free
of nuclear weapons," Mr Smith and Mr Fitzgibbon said.

AAP so/rl/tnf

KEYWORD: AUSMIN

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