The Deputy Prime Minister will attend the 16th annual Australian American Leadership Dialogue (AALD) in Washington, DC next week.
Together with Australia’s membership of the United Nations and our role in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia’s alliance with the US is a key element of the Government’s foreign policy.
The AALD is a valuable opportunity for our two nations to build on our strong and enduring relationship and discuss the economic, environmental and security challenges we face.
The Leadership Dialogue brings together leaders of the two nations from government, business, academia and the media and enjoys strong bipartisan support on both sides of the Pacific.
The global economy, energy security and environmental challenges are among the major issues to be discussed at the Leadership Dialogue.
The Deputy Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with Vice President, Dick Cheney, the Secretary of Education, the Hon. Margaret Spellings and the Secretary of Labor, the Hon. Elaine Chao whilst in Washington.
The Deputy Prime Minister will also travel to New York to investigate initiatives that will inform the Rudd Government’s early childhood education and social inclusion agendas.
The following week, the Deputy Prime Minister will travel to London and Singapore.
The Deputy Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with senior government representatives in London and Singapore and undertake a range of portfolio related activities.
The Prime Minister will be acting Minister for Education and Minister for Social Inclusion and the Minister for Employment Participation, Brendan O’Connor will be acting Employment and Workplace Relations Minister during this period.