Chris Bryant (Labour)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State speaks to Stephen Smith, his Australian counter part on a regular basis on a full range of issues including climate change, Afghanistan, Fiji and the Commonwealth and UK-Australian relations. The last formal bilateral talks were held in the UK in November 2008. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met Stephen Smith at the time of the UN General Assembly in October 2009 in New York. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to meet his Australian counterpart at the Afghanistan Conference due to be held in London in January 2010.

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