An Address From Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop 

NEW YORK, March 3, 2018 — Julie Bishop, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, delivers an address on Australia’s strategic relationships with Southeast Asia. The address was followed by a discussion with Asia Society Policy Institute President and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. (1 hr., 7 mins.)

The Asia Society Policy Institute is delighted to welcome back The Honorable Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, for an address followed by a moderated discussion with Asia Society Policy Institute President The Honorable Kevin Rudd.

Ahead of the March signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement among 11 nations, as well as the Australia-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Special Summit in Sydney, and given Australia’s vital interest in the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region it calls home, Foreign Minister Bishop’s remarks will focus on Australia’s strategic relationships with Southeast Asia. The conversation will cover areas such as regional security challenges and opportunities for cooperation, enhancing regional and bilateral trade, and growing investment cooperation.

Speakers

The Hon. Julie Bishop is Minister for Foreign Affairs in Australia's Federal Coalition Government. She is also the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and has served as the Member for Curtin in the House of Representatives since 1998. Minister Bishop was sworn in as Australia's first female Foreign Minister in September 2013 following four years in the role of Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, she has overseen the single largest expansion of Australia's overseas diplomatic presence in 40 years. She previously served as Minister for Education, Science and Training and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues in the Howard Government. Prior to this, she was Minister for Ageing.

The Hon. Kevin Rudd (moderator) is inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as 26th Prime Minister of Australia (2007 to 2010, 2013) and as Foreign Minister (2010 to 2012). He is a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House and the Paulson Institute, and a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization’s Group of Eminent Persons.