Australian and New Zealand Army chiefs signed a bilateral service cooperation plan in the lead-up to Anzac Day.
Plan ANZAC, ratified in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 17, will build on a long history of cooperation and mateship.
The plan establishes a comprehensive framework for engagement between the two Armies to create organisational and operational interoperability in the land domain.
The bilateral agreement will increase capacity to operate together, enabling the two armies to exchange views and share situational awareness, capability, training and readiness.
Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart said the agreement would increase cooperation.
“Plan ANZAC builds on our significant history of partnership by strengthening our army-to-army relationships, enhancing interoperability, capacity, ability to jointly support combat operations as well as joint capabilities to meet today’s challenges,” Lieutenant General Stuart said.
“This partnership will see both armies better prepared to work together to support security and stability missions, and humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations.”
Chief of New Zealand Army Major General John Boswell said Plan ANZAC was a step forward for the trans-Tasman strategic partnership.
“Our armies have a deep history of operational service, organisational cooperation, regional partnerships, and mateship,” Major General Boswell said.
“For more than a century, we have served our nations, supported global peace and upheld regional stability – together. We will continue to do just that.
“Plan ANZAC will reflect a broader defence relationship, one that is open, based on mutual respect and is enduring.”
