Minister for Defence Industry to visit USA for industry talks and annual Ministerial Development Dialogue

Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, will travel to the USA this week for industry and government-to-government talks on defence industry expansion and also on deeper cooperation on international development and the Pacific. Conroy is also Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific.

The strong relationship between the Australian and US defence industrial bases is vitally important to deliver a genuine capability edge, Conroy said in a statement. “During this visit, I will meet officials and industry leaders to discuss how we can further deepen this relationship.

“I look forward to discussing tangible next steps on Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise (GWEO), and building on productive discussions at the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in July,” added Conroy. A key recommendation of the Defence Strategic Review, published earlier this year, was to accelerate and expand long-range strike and guided weapons stocks and to establish domestic missile manufacturing in Australia, said Conroy.

“This visit provides an opportunity to progress our shared commitment to co-produce Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) in our respective countries.”

The Minister will also meet key US counterparts in the US Administration and Congress, the World Bank and think tanks to further progress Australia-US cooperation on development and in the Pacific.

“I look forward to holding the annual Australia-United States Development Dialogue with USAID and making sure our two countries deliver effective, targeted and complementary aid.”