Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2015

We will attend the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in Boston from 12 to 13 October hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

The Alliance is the bedrock of our foreign and defence policy and we look forward to further developing and deepening our shared regional and global strategic and economic interests.

We will discuss our approach to combating Da'esh in Iraq and Syria and our response to the humanitarian crises in the Middle East.

Australia is the second largest contributor to the Building Partner Capacity initiative after the United States in supporting Iraq in the fight against Da'esh. Strengthening our bilateral coordination in response to this brutal organisation is critical.

We will review progress on the US force posture initiatives in Australia and agree on new areas of defence cooperation. We will convey Australia's strong support for the US rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.

We will emphasise our support for economic development and prosperity including through implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Our discussions will also focus on strengthening engagement with regional partners and key institutions such as the East Asia Summit and ASEAN. We will share perspectives and approaches on strategic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region, including maritime security, cyber security and countering violent extremism.

In the face of an increasingly complex international environment, it is vital that we continue to deepen and broaden our strategic cooperation.

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