29th January 2012
Australia-UK Ministerial Meeting in London
I am currently in London for the 4th AUKMIN meeting which took place on 23/24 January at the prestigious Lancaster House near Buckingham Palace. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith, led a large Australian delegation of senior officials and military officers. They were welcomed by Foreign Secretary William Hague and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond. They also met Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.
The two sides discussed a wide range of foreign policy and security issues. In particular they focused on Asia, on the events that are unfolding in the Gulf following the Arab Spring, on the political and security architecture in the Asia Pacific and the security challenges in the Indian Ocean such as piracy and terrorism. They looked forward to the conference on Somalia which the UK will be hosting in London next month. As the AUKMIN communiqué shows, they also discussed developments in a number of countries including Afghanistan, Burma and North Korea. Kevin Rudd announced publicly that Australia would be mirroring the tougher sanctions which the EU had just imposed on Iran earlier that day.
Now that these AUKMIN meetings are taking place on an annual basis, they are developing a strong momentum. Of course bilateral relations have always been close, but we have seen a real strengthening in the volume and tempo of information sharing and expert cooperation over the last 12 months. It is clear that both sides see much benefit in this. I am certainly conscious of how regularly William Hague and Kevin Rudd speak to each other on the phone, when they are not bumping into each other at the various international meetings which foreign ministers have to attend around the world. For more on AUKMIN outcomes, watch my latest video blog.
On the way over to Britain, I used the 27 hour flight to read former Australian diplomat Philip Flood’s book “Dancing with Warriors”. It is a fascinating insider account of 40 years of Australian foreign policy including his happy period as High Commissioner to London from 1998 to 2000.
The current Australian High Commissioner in London, John Dauth, who has become a good friend, kindly invited me to the Australia Day Foundation Dinner at Australia House on the Saturday before AUKMIN. It was a fantastic occasion. I was privileged to sit with the legendary Barry Humphries, who had just been chosen as Australian of the Year here, and who gave a hilarious acceptance speech which demonstrated why he is such an international star. The room was full of leaders from various walks of life – government, business, the arts, sport – who do so much to make the relationship between our two peoples so special.