I will travel to Kuala Lumpur to attend the inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS) from 13 - 14 December 2005.
The Summit will bring together leaders from all ten ASEAN nations, as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand.
I look forward to engaging with my fellow leaders on issues of contemporary relevance to the region, including security, counter-terrorism, avian influenza, financial cooperation and energy security. I will join other leaders in signing a Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the East Asia Summit, which will begin to set the course for this new regional forum.
While in Kuala Lumpur, I will also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Australia shares strong links - both economic and political - with Japan and China, and I look forward to discussing issues of bilateral interest in my meetings with these two leaders.