The United Nations General Assembly Leaders’ Week is the biggest summit on the international calendar.
From 17-22 September, I will represent Australia at the 2016 UNGA in New York and engage with our US partners in Washington DC. I will be joined by the Foreign Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.
These meetings will focus on matters of vital strategic interest to Australia, such as global stability and border security.
The Australia-US Alliance is the bedrock of Australian foreign and defence policy.
While in New York, I will set out my vision for the US-Australia relationship in the 21st Century, including how we must seize new opportunities to further develop the bilateral trade and investment relationship through innovation.
At UNGA I will participate in summits on refugees and migration hosted by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and President Obama.
Australia has a positive story to tell. Our secure borders enable one of the most generous humanitarian programs in the world. Border security is an essential ingredient to a more orderly and effective response to refugees, and to eliminating incentives for transnational criminals that traffic for money and people.
My meetings in Washington DC with Secretary of Defence Carter and senior national security and intelligence officials will build on the discussions Vice President Biden and I had in Sydney this year around global and regional security issues.
In Washington I will also launch the inaugural Australia-United States Cyber Security Dialogue. This will establish the foundation for new US-Australian cooperation on law enforcement to address the current and emerging threats we face in the cyber age.