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Australia, U.S. sign new security treaty |
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10:31, September 05, 2007 |
Australia and the United States on Wednesday signed a new defense and trade cooperation treaty on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and visiting U.S. President George W. Bush met before the signing of the treaty, which allows Australia to get more access to secret U.S. military technology.
Howard said at a joint press conference with Bush after their meeting that they discussed a number of vital issues including Iraq, Iran, lasting settlement between Israel and the Palestinian people and climate change aspects of APEC.
"On a bilateral basis we have agreed to a number of new arrangements including a treaty relating to exchanges concerning defense equipment which effectively will remove layers of bureaucracy for defense industries in Australia acquiring American technology," he said.
Bush arrived in Sydney Tuesday night amid tight security for the APEC leaders summit meeting, which will be held on Sept. 8-9.
But he will head home earlier than other leaders to hear a reassessment report on recent U.S. military surge in Iraq by the U. S. commander in Baghdad.
Source: Xinhua
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