The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, will
travel to Canada, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom from
20 to 30 November. In Cornwallis, Canada, Mr Fitzgibbon will
meet with his counterparts from nations contributing to operations
in Southern Afghanistan, including United States (US) Secretary
of Defence, Robert Gates, UK Secretary of State for Defence,
the Rt Hon. John Hutton MP, Canadian Minister of National
Defence, Peter Mackay and Dutch Minister of Defence, Eimert
van Middelkoop.
Mr Fitzgibbon will also attend the second Australia-UK Ministerial
(AUKMIN) Talks in Leeds with the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
the Hon. Stephen Smith, and their counterparts in the United
Kingdom: Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon. John
Hutton MP, and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs, the Rt Hon. David Miliband MP. “The meetings
I will attend in Canada and the United Kingdom provide a valuable
opportunity for face-to-face discussions with my counterparts
on key operational challenges in Southern Afghanistan, and
broader strategic developments,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
Mr Fitzgibbon will also visit his counterparts in Spain and
Portugal for discussions on our work together in locations
such as East Timor and Afghanistan. Whilst in Spain, Mr Fitzgibbon
will also visit Defence companies: Navantia, which is building
key parts of Australia’s Air Warfare Destroyer and Amphibious
Ships, and EADS CASA which is producing the new generation
Airbus Multi Role Tanker Transport.
“These visits will provide an opportunity to progress
a range of policy objectives relating to operations, regional
security and complex military capability,” Mr Fitzgibbon
said. “I look forward to being able to discuss these
important issues with my counterparts, and Defence personnel
from these countries.”