GOA ARF SOM DELEGATION

UNCLAS CANBERRA 000837 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/AS HILL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM MARR PREL AORC AS SUBJECT: GOA ARF SOM DELEGATION ¶1. (U) On May 12, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officials told poloff that First Assistant Secretary for International Security David Stuart and SIPDIS Assistant Secretary for Strategic Affairs Susan Dietz-Henderson would head the GOA delegation to the May 18-20 ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Senior Officials Meeting in Vientiane, Laos. Australian Department of Defense Assistant Secretary for Asia Ben Coleman will also be in the SIPDIS delegation. DFAT Deputy Secretary Nick Warner would have led the delegation but he is heading up the Australian Emergency Response Team in Baghdad handling the Australian hostage crisis. ¶2. (U) DFAT officials said that there would be nothing new in their positions and that they hoped for a good statement on North Korea and Burma as well as a forward-leaning statement on counterterrorism. DFAT officials were interested to know what was on the U.S. agenda for the ARF SOM. STANTON