Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Bernie Ripoll, will today participate in the Australian American Leadership Dialogue in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The 2012 Honolulu Leadership Dialogue is being held from 23–24 October 2012 and co-hosted by Australian American Leadership Dialogue and the East-West Center.
A small delegation from both countries will engage today and tomorrow on a broad range of topics affecting US and Australian interests including defence, security, and foreign policy in the Indo Pacific region, and regional cooperation.
Mr Ripoll said he was honoured to be representing the Australian Government at the Dialogue and to lead a discussion on Australian politics.
"Our Alliance with the US is our most critical bilateral relationship and one of the cornerstones of our foreign policy."
"The Dialogue is a great initiative and an opportunity to deepen people to people links between our two countries," Mr Ripoll said.
The Australian American Leadership Dialogue was founded in 1992 and is a private diplomatic initiative, which brings together Australian and American leaders from government, enterprise, media, education and the community to help review and refine the parameters of the Australian-American bilateral relationship.
The mission of the Leadership Dialogue is to broaden and deepen mutual understanding between Australian and American leaders and to enhance the framework for regional security in a manner that underwrites economic and cultural prosperity for Australian and American citizens.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Dialogue and comes at a critical time in the US electoral cycle, being held on the eve of the US Presidential election.
23 October 2012