Joint Communiqué -- From Washington, DC, April 9, 2009
Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Minister for
Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith, and Minister for Defence Joel Fitzgibbon
met in Washington D.C. on April 9, 2009 to further the United
States-Australia alliance and to discuss global and regional security
issues. The talks marked the 24th anniversary of the
Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) and 58 years
of strategic partnership under the ANZUS alliance.
The 2009
AUSMIN, the first such meeting under the Obama Administration,
confirmed the strength and contemporary relevance of the U.S.-Australia
alliance in strategic, security, military, and foreign policy fields.
The discussions reaffirmed the commitment of both countries to work
together closely to support their common interests and to achieve their
shared objectives.
Global Security
The United
States and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to stabilization and
reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Noting the recently released
Afghanistan and Pakistan strategic policy review undertaken by the
United States in cooperation with allies, the two countries agreed on
the importance of a comprehensive approach to regional challenges. They
endorsed the Chairman’s Statement of the March 31 International
Conference on Afghanistan in The Hague. The two countries agreed on the
continuing priority attached to curbing the ability of al-Qaida and
other terrorist groups to operate in the region. They reaffirmed their
commitment to work together to give the Afghan people the means to
secure their own future, particularly by building the capacity of the
Afghan National Army and Police.