WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Australia will hold high-level talks in November, rescheduling a regular meeting scrapped earlier this year due to the earthquake in Haiti, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.
Clinton said she and Defense Secretary Robert Gates would travel to Australia for their annual meeting with their counterparts, expected to focus on the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and regional issues.
"This will be my first trip as Secretary of State because I had to cancel my prior trip due to the earthquake in Haiti, and I am so looking forward to returning to a country that I admire so greatly," Clinton told reporters following a meeting with visiting Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.
Rudd, who became foreign minister this month after being replaced as prime minister by Julia Gillard in a party coup in June, said Australia looked forward to resuming high-level dialogue with the United States, which he called one of its most important allies.
"We intend to make it a really good time," Rudd said, earning a laugh from Clinton.
Clinton's Australia visit will take place after she attends the East Asia Summit in Hanoi in late October, setting the stage for President Barack Obama to attend next year's summit and bring the United States in as a full member of the 16-nation group.
(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; editing by Stacey Joyce)
