AJC Delegation Concludes Visit to Australia
SYDNEY, Oct. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An AJC senior leadership delegation has concluded a five-day mission to Australia. The visit included stops in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney.
Earlier, the group traveled to Japan, Indonesia, and Singapore.
The program in Australia was coordinated with AJC's longstanding partner organization, AIJAC, led by its executive director, Dr. Colin Rubenstein.
The visit to Canberra was highlighted by a private meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
In the capital, the delegation also met with the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister of Defense, Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Secretary of Defense, Shadow Minister of Defense, Shadow Attorney-General, and both the Israeli and U.S. ambassadors.
Additionally, the group met with several top journalists and think tank directors, and had a dinner with many members of the Australia/Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group, one of the largest such groups in the Parliament.
"We came to Australia, first and foremost, to express our heartfelt gratitude and admiration for the country's indispensable alliance with the United States and steadfast support for Israel," said AJC Executive Director David Harris, who has visited Australia five times. "This is truly an exceptional nation, one that has stood with us shoulder-to-shoulder time and again. We are inspired by Australia's regional and global partnership in an increasingly turbulent world. And its Jewish community is among the most impressive, vibrant, and dedicated in the world."
The visits to Melbourne and Sydney included meetings with leaders of the local Jewish communities, state parliamentarians and journalists, as well as several groups of young Jewish advocates.
The principal topics discussed during the mission were: Australian-U.S. and Australian-Israeli relations; the Iranian nuclear challenge; Asia-Pacific regional developments; and Australia's efforts to help combat the surge of ISIS in Iraq.
AJC maintains close ties with Australian diplomats in the U.S. through its Asia Pacific Institute, led by Shira Loewenberg, who also joined the mission. The institute, the first of its kind, was founded 25 years ago to address the growing importance of the region to the U.S. and the Jewish people.
SOURCE American Jewish Committee
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