Photostream : Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Seoul

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, greets Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard before their meeting on the sideline of the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service)

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R) meets with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard as part of the G20 Summit in Seoul, November 11, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/Kremlin )

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, meets with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the sideline of the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010. (Getty Images /AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service)

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R) meets Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard as part of the G20 Summit in Seoul, November 11, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/Kremlin )

Photostream : U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (R) walk along the Yarra River on their way to lunch at Melbourne's Federation Square on November 7, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. Secretary Clinton travelled to Melbourne with U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates to participate in the annual Australia-U.S. ministerial meetings. The meetings were originally scheduled for January 2010 but were postponed so Secretary Clinton could help organise U.S. relief efforts following the Haiti earthquake. (Photo by William West - Pool/Getty Images)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (centre L) and Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (centre R) walk along the Yarra River on the way to lunch at Melbourne's Federation Square on November 7, 2010. Australia is the final country on an Asia Pacific tour that has taken Clinton to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Cambodia, China and Vietnam. AFP PHOTO/POOL/William WEST (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, walks to lunch with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010, in Melbourne, Australia. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures during an event on clean energy and green technology Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, speaks as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard listens during a joint press conference at the Pixel Building in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. (Getty Images /AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill, Pool)

Australia : Clinton arrives for defence talks

Hillary Clinton was welcomed on the tarmac by Kevin Rudd. (AAP: Mal Fairclough)

November 06, 2010 (KATAKAMI / ABC.NET.AU) --- Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd has greeted US secretary of state Hillary Clinton as she arrived in Melbourne for a two-day visit.

Ms Clinton touched down at a section of Melbourne Airport that was cordoned off by police and US diplomatic agents.

She was welcomed on the tarmac by Mr Rudd and Australia's ambassador to the US, Kim Beazley.
"It's great to have the secretary of state with us in Australia," Mr Rudd said.

"She is a very welcome guest for these AUSMIN talks here in Melbourne. It's the first time we've had Ausmin in Melbourne - it's a great city, a great day and it's great that the secretary of state is going to see this wonderful city."

Ms Clinton is on a two-week tour through the Asia-Pacific region. Her visit is part of the annual talks between the Australian foreign and defence ministers and the US secretaries of state and defence.
This afternoon she will hold her first official meeting with Mr Rudd and the pair will dine together tonight.
Mr Rudd says he is keen to give the United States greater access to Australian defence bases and confirmed both countries are interested in closer cooperation between their defence forces.

"We in Australia have an interest in ensuring we have continued and increased use of Australian ports, facilities and training facilities and test-firing ranges by the armed forces of the United States," he said.
Tomorrow Ms Clinton will meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The pair met briefly at last month's East Asia Summit in Vietnam.

On Monday Ms Clinton and US defence secretary Robert Gates will meet their Australian counterparts for talks on issues including Afghanistan and security in the Asia Pacific region.

Ms Gillard says America's force posture review - an official investigation into the geographical and strategic placement of US forces around the world - will be at the top of the agenda in her talks with Ms Clinton.

"We anticipate that that will give rise to a process of discussion about how that force posture review has implications for Australia," she said.

"[It] could have implications in future joint exercises; it could have implications in future sharing of joint facilities."

Also on Sunday, Ms Clinton will front an hour-long forum to respond to questions submitted via video link, and online on Facebook and Twitter, as well as take questions from an audience of people under the age of 35.

The town-hall style event in Melbourne will be hosted by Lateline's Leigh Sales and broadcast on the ABC. Questions can be posted on ABC News's Facebook page or on Twitter with the hashtag #hillaryoz.
Ms Clinton was due to visit Australia in January this year, but postponed her trip because of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti.

Meanwhile, Ms Clinton has ruled out running for president in 2012 or 2016, saying the United States should be ready for a woman president but it would not be her.


In interviews in New Zealand, the failed 2008 presidential candidate made clear she had no plans to run again despite talk - fueled partly by her fellow Democrats' losses in Tuesday's US mid-term elections - she might embark on a new race.

Asked by TV3 New Zealand whether she ruled out standing for the top US office through 2016, Ms Clinton, according to a US reporter, replied: "Oh yes, yes. I'm very pleased to be doing what I'm doing as secretary of state."

(MS)

Clinton heads to Melbourne

First official visit: Hillary Clinton (AFP: Saul Loeb, file photo)

November 06, 2010 (KATAKAMI / ABC.NET.AU) --- Hillary Clinton will arrive in Australia later today on her first official visit since becoming the United States secretary of state.

Ms Clinton is on a two-week tour through the Asia-Pacific region and today will fly into Melbourne.
Her visit is part of the annual talks between the Australian foreign and defence ministers and the US secretaries of state and defence.

Those talks will take place on Monday and will focus on regional and global security issues, including the war in Afghanistan.

Tomorrow, Ms Clinton will meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The pair met briefly at last month's East Asia Summit in Vietnam.

Ms Clinton was due to visit Australia in January this year, but postponed her trip because of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti.

Meanwhile, Ms Clinton has ruled out running for president in 2012 or 2016, saying the United States should be ready for a woman president but it would not be her.

In interviews in New Zealand, the failed 2008 presidential candidate made clear she had no plans to run again despite talk - fueled partly by her fellow Democrats' losses in Tuesday's US mid-term elections - she might embark on a new race.

Asked by TV3 New Zealand whether she ruled out standing for the top US office through 2016, Ms Clinton, according to a US reporter, replied: "Oh yes, yes. I'm very pleased to be doing what I'm doing as secretary of state."

(MS)

Photostream : Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard meets Indonesian President Yudhoyono

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard inspects a guard of honour at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during her official visit to Indonesia November 2, 2010. REUTERS/Supri (INDONESIA)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, left, walks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prior to their meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday. (AP/Dita Alangkara/Jakarta Post)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, left, walks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prior to their meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (L) walks with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during her state visit to Indonesia November 2, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni )

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (L) is invited to inspect the guard of honour by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during her state visit to Indonesia November 2, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Supri )

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, left, shakes hands with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prior to their meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

President Yudhoyono to visit Merapi victims after meeting with Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard (L) shake hands with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa (R) on arrival at Jakarta airport on November 1, 2010. Gillard will be meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on November 2. AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD (Photo by ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

November 02, 2010 (KATAKAMI / THE JAKARTA POST) --- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to fly to Yogyakarta later today to meet people displaced by Mt. Merapi multiple eruptions in the past few days.

The President is slated to fly to Yogyakarta at about 2 p.m. Tuesday, after meeting with visiting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Tempointeraktif.com reported Tuesday.

Yudhoyono earlier said that he had contacted governors of Yogyakarta and West Java, to make sure that people displaced by the eruption are taken care of.

"I ordered (the two governors) to try their best to save the lives of our brothers and sisters around Mt. Merapi," he said.

He also called on the people to improve their preparedness in the face of multiple disasters, considering that Indonesia is prone to natural disasters.

"We have to change the way we see disasters in this country. Our country is prone to natural disasters such as earthquake, tsunami and volcano eruption. When we are aware of our geography, we have to do whatever we can do for our survival to face these disasters," he said.

Yudhoyono cut short his visit to Vietnam and returned home to visit victims of tsunami disaster in West Sumatra last weekend, and flew back to Vietnam to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

(MS)

Australia, Malaysia to Push Forward Free Trade Agreement

Malaysian deputy premier Muhyiuddin Yassin (R) shows a view of the administrative capital Putrajaya to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard from the prime minister's office on November 1, 2010. Gillard arrived here on a two-day official visit to hold talks with the Malaysian high officials on bilateral and international issues. AFP PHOTO / Saeed Khan (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)

November 01, 2010 (KATAKAMI / VOA) --- Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on a visit to Malaysia that the two countries hope to reach a free trade deal next year.

Ms. Gillard met Monday with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, standing in for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is ill with chickenpox.

Muhyiddin told reporters that he hoped the trade agreement would move forward next year and be signed as soon as possible.

Ms. Gillard also called for a center to be set up in East Timor to process refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, who use Malaysia as a transit point to Australia.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia needs more information before coming up with an official position on the processing centers.

Ms. Gillard is on her first regional tour since becoming Australia’s first female prime minister earlier this year. She began her tour by attending the 16-nation East Asia Summit in Vietnam Saturday and was to travel on to Indonesia later Monday.

Some information in this story was provided by AP and AFP.

Chinese, Australian PMs promise to strengthen ties

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) meets with his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, Oct. 30, 2010, on the sidelines of a series of summits between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

October 30, 2010 (KATAKAMI / PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE) --- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard promised in Hanoi Saturday that they would make concerted efforts to further promote bilateral relations.

The two met on Saturday morning at the hotel where Wen is staying. They are both here to attend a series of summits between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners.

Wen said Australia is a big country in the Asia-Pacific region and the smooth development and promotion of bilateral ties between Australia and China benefit both countries and their peoples.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (1st R) meets with his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard (1st L) in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, Oct. 30, 2010, on the sidelines of a series of summits between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

"I am very glad to take advantage of this opportunity to exchange views with you on bilateral relations and issues of common concern," Wen said.

Gillard said that she was very delighted to meet with Premier Wen. She was content with the development of bilateral ties and would try to further promote this friendship.

Wen arrived here Thursday afternoon to attend the summits between ASEAN and its partners. On the sidelines of the meetings, Wen has met with leaders of some countries and exchanged views with them on bilateral relations.

Source:Xinhua

Hillary 'excited' about Australia trip

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) walks with Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the sidelines of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia summits in Hanoi on October 30, 2010. Clinton said that maritime rows should be settled by international law, in defiance of China's call to handle them directly with its neighbours. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images)

October 30, 2010 (KATAKAMI / THE AGE.COM.AU ) --- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told Prime Minister Julia Gillard she cannot wait to visit Australia next week.

Mrs Clinton met Ms Gillard on the sidelines of the 16-nation East Asia Summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Saturday.

The pair spoke briefly and posed for the cameras as they left a VIP lunch.

Asked if she was looking forward to her visit to Australia, Mrs Clinton said: "Very much.

"I cannot wait to get there.

"I was just telling the prime minister how excited I am."

Before parting ways, the pair shared a kiss and Mrs Clinton said: "It'll be fun."

"I will make it fun," Ms Gillard replied.

Mrs Clinton and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates will be in Australia from November 6 to 8 for the 25th AUSMIN talks.

They will meet Ms Gillard, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith to discuss regional and global issues.

It will be Mrs Clinton's first visit to Australia since she was appointed secretary of state in 2008.

(MS)

PM Julia Gillard to visit Malaysia, Indonesia

October 22, 2010 (KATAKAMI / ABC.NET.AU) --- Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced she will make official visits to Malaysia and Indonesia later this month, after her already-planned attendance at the East Asia Summit in Vietnam.

Ms Gillard has announced she will hold talks with Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur during an official visit to the country on October 31 and November 1.
She will then travel to Indonesia at the invitation of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for formal meetings on November 1 and 2.

Both countries are critical to some of the key issues facing Ms Gillard, including counter-terrorism and people smuggling, as well as environmental and trade issues.

The trip to Indonesia follows Mr Yudhoyono's trip to Australia in March this year and a joint commitment that Australian and Indonesian leaders would meet annually.

Ms Gillard will also attend the East Asia summit in Hanoi, including the inaugural ASEAN-Australia leaders summit.