29 Jul 2024

US and Australia foreign and defence ministers to meet 6 August

4:37 pm on 29 July 2024
Antony Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be part of the meeting in August. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The foreign and defence ministers of the United States and Australia will meet in the US on 6 August, the country's embassy in Canberra said on Monday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will co-host their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles in Annapolis, Maryland as part of the annual Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) dialogue.

"Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin look forward to strengthening our cooperation on the full range of global and regional issues and deepening the US-Australia alliance with their Australian counterparts," the US Embassy said in a statement.

Washington and Canberra were close allies, cooperating most notably on counterbalancing China, which was playing an increasingly assertive role in the Pacific region.

At the last AUSMIN meeting in the northern Australian state of Queensland, the two countries agreed to help Australia produce guided multiple-launch rocket systems by 2025.

- Reuters

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