Secretary Powell to Participate in U.S.-Australia Ministerial Meeting (AUSMIN)

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will meet with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill in the Sixteenth Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations at the U.S. Department of State on Wednesday, July 7, 2004. Among the topics on the agenda will be the situation in Iraq, strengthening the international non-proliferation regime, the global war against terrorism and enhancing bilateral security cooperation and defense interoperability.

During the consultations Secretary Rumsfeld and Minister Hill will sign a memorandum of understanding on Australian participation in the U.S. missile defense program. The signing will be held in the State Department Treaty Room.

At the conclusion of the day's discussions Secretaries Powell and Rumsfeld will join Ministers Downer and Hill for a joint press conference in the Department's Dean Acheson Auditorium.

Memorandum of Understanding Signing in the Treaty Room at 2:25 PM
(Camera spray / Editorial presence is welcomed / NO Q AND A)
Pick up time for cameras, stills, and writers is 1:55 PM from the 23rd Street entrance.)

Joint Press Conference in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at 3:20 PM
Pre-set times for cameras: 2:20 PM from the 23rd Street entrance
Final access time for all press: 3:00 PM from the 23rd Street entrance

Media representatives who plan to attend must present one of the following press credentials: (1) a U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense, or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) a letter from their employer on original letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification (driver's license or passport).