I will visit Washington DC from 30 October to 3 November 2019 on my first visit to the United States as Minister for Defence.
The trip will be an opportunity to build on the successful Australia-US Ministerial Consultation Meeting (AUSMIN) held in Sydney in August, and to discuss how we can strengthen and deepen our practical defence engagement.
I look forward to again meeting my counterpart, US Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper to discuss our respective Indo-Pacific strategies and opportunities to increase coordination; celebrate the successes of the 2019 US Force Posture Initiatives; and progress science and technology, capability and industry cooperation.
During the trip I will also meet with senior US Defense and National Security officials, Secretary of Navy, Richard Spencer, as well as Congressional members from the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
At the Hudson Institute I will outline the Australian perspective of the security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific, and how the Alliance can be best postured to address them.
There is no deeper friendship than that which exists between Australia and the United States, and as the Indo-Pacific region evolves and faces new challenges, our Alliance is more vital than ever.
