Visit to Indonesia and Vietnam

I will visit Lombok, Indonesia on 13 and 14 November to sign the Australia-Indonesia Agreement on the Framework for Security Cooperation with my Indonesian counterpart, Dr Hassan Wirajuda.

Then I will attend the annual APEC joint Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 15-16 November. The Ministerial Meeting will be an important opportunity to reaffirm APEC’s position as the pre-eminent forum in the region and reinforce our commitment to strengthening the organisation. The meetings in Hanoi will be the last major APEC meetings before Australia takes over as host in 2007.

While in Hanoi, I will meet with the US Secretary of State, Dr Rice, and the Japanese ForeignMinister, Mr Taro Aso, for a Trilateral Strategic Dialogue discussion on DPRK and APEC reform. I will also meet separately with Dr Rice and Mr Aso to discuss bilateral issues, and with my counterparts from Vietnam, Thailand, China and New Zealand.

Media Inquiries: Mr Downer's office 02 6277 7500 - Departmental Media Liaison 02 6261 1555