The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, will travel to Auckland today to participate in the 2024 South Pacific Defence Ministers' Meeting (SPDMM).
Hosted by New Zealand, SPDMM 2024 marks the ninth iteration of this key regional defence forum, at which ministers will progress tangible initiatives to deepen military-to-military cooperation in the Pacific. This year's theme is 'collectively looking to the future: our region in 2050'.
Ministers will agree next steps to enhance interoperability and coordination across the region, and further enable Pacific-led collective responses to regional security challenges.
While in Auckland, the Deputy Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with his Pacific counterparts as well as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa, who will attend the SPDMM as a guest.
The members of the SPDMM are Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. Officials from Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States will attend as observers.
Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP:
"I look forward to travelling to New Zealand for my third South Pacific Defence Ministers' Meeting.
"Together, we will consider what we can do now to enable countries of the Pacific to effectively respond to pressing regional security challenges, now and into the future."
