Defence Ministers visit Gallipoli
7 February 2010
The Australian Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, and his New Zealand counterpart, Minister of Defence, the Hon. Dr Wayne Mapp, today attended ceremonies at Gallipoli honouring fallen ANZAC and Turkish soldiers.
"Gallipoli is revered by both Australians and New Zealanders," Senator Faulkner said.
"The sacrifice at Gallipoli is deeply felt by Australians almost 100 years after the 1915 campaign, and is a fundamental part of our cultural identity.
"The mutual respect that Australia and Turkey established on this battlefield has developed into deep bonds of friendship, goodwill and cooperation."
The Defence Ministers visited Lone Pine, the Turkish National Memorial, and Chunuk Bair as well as Anzac Cove and laid wreaths at each memorial.
"Australia has a strong defence relationship with Turkey based on our historic links, and a treaty-level Defence Cooperation Agreement.
"Our engagement with Turkey includes ANZAC Day commemorations, materiel cooperation, senior-level visits and educational exchanges," Senator Faulkner said.
Senator Faulkner has just attended a NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Istanbul and took the opportunity to visit the Gallipoli battlefields and memorials.
Turkey and Australia are both major contributors to the International Security Assistance Force effort in Afghanistan.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
