Hillary Clinton to Visit Australia

September 20, 2010 Updated: October 1, 2015

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd hold a news briefing after meeting at the State Department in Washington on Sept. 17, 2010.  (Chris Kleponis/AFP/Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd hold a news briefing after meeting at the State Department in Washington on Sept. 17, 2010. (Chris Kleponis/AFP/Getty Images)
US State Secretary Hillary Clinton will visit Australia in November this year, accompanied by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. Secretary Clinton announced the visit in a State Department press conference with Australia’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd in Washington Sept. 19.

The visit will be Mrs Clinton's first to Australia as Secretary of State, having visited as First Lady alongside President Bill Clinton in 1996.

The visit will follow the East Asia Summit in Hanoi in late October, Fairfax News reported, and will enable both US Secretaries to attend the Australia-US Ministerial talks on Nov. 8.

Meanwhile, the East Asia summit is expected to formalize America’s membership of the 16 nation group, setting the scene for President Obama to attend the summit next year, Fairfax News said.