Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Marise Payne will travel to Indonesia and Malaysia from 20 – 21 March 2016. The Minister will meet her Indonesian counterpart General (Retired) Ryamizard Ryacudu in Jakarta and her Malaysian counterpart Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Bin Tun Hussein in Kuala Lumpur on Monday 21 March 2016.
The bilateral meetings will be the Minister’s first opportunity to discuss defence and security issues with regional counterparts following the official launch of the 2016 Defence White Paper.
The discussions will highlight the White Paper’s direction for Defence to take a more active and engaged role with our regional partners, such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
“Australia’s security and prosperity are directly affected by events in our region and the wider world. The 2016 Defence White Paper recognises that we can better pursue our Defence objectives by working with others bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally,” Minister Payne said.
The Ministers will also discuss a range of regional security issues including regional security architecture and countering violent extremism.