Penny Wong and Richard Marles to head to France in effort to heal Aukus rift

Australia’s foreign and defence ministers to join French counterparts for ‘2+2’ meeting, the first since relations cooled in 2021 over pact with US and UK

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Two senior Australian ministers will fly to France next week to step up efforts to repair the diplomatic rift, with closer cooperation in the Pacific expected to be on the agenda.

The defence minister, Richard Marles, and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will meet their French counterparts for what is known as a “2+2” meeting – the first in this format since the 2021 diplomatic rupture sparked by Aukus, sources said.