Secretary of Protection Lloyd J. Austin III will depart on November 18 for a visit to Canada, Indonesia and Cambodia. In Nova Scotia, he’ll ship keynote remarks on the 2022 Halifax Worldwide Safety Discussion board centered on the Division’s efforts to construct a extra resilient safety structure in live performance with Allies and companions throughout the Indo-Pacific and Europe. He may even meet with Canadian Minister of Nationwide Defence Anita Anand to debate the shut protection relationship between the U.S. and Canada and the significance of strategic investments in protection capabilities.
From there, Secretary Austin will journey to Jakarta, the place he’ll meet with senior authorities and army leaders as america and Indonesia work to chart an bold course of their protection partnership. Secretary Austin’s go to will drive progress on key bilateral initiatives to assist interoperability, functionality growth, and the professionalization and modernization of the Indonesian Armed Forces.
Lastly, in Cambodia, Secretary Austin will take part within the ninth ASEAN Protection Ministers’ Assembly (ADMM)-Plus, alongside the ten ASEAN member states and eight dialogue companions. Secretary Austin’s first in-person participation on the discussion board, which was performed nearly through the COVID pandemic, continues an extended custom of U.S. Secretary of Protection illustration on the ADMM-Plus.
On the margins of the ADMM-Plus program of occasions, Secretary Austin will maintain a casual multilateral engagement along with his ASEAN counterparts and meet along with his counterparts from Cambodia and a spread of associate nations. Every of those engagements will spotlight the essential strides the Division is taking alongside Allies and companions to carry larger stability, transparency, and openness to the Indo-Pacific area.