PRIME MINISTER
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
PARLIAMENTARY LUNCHEON IN HONOUR OF
PRESIDENT ROH TAE WOO OF KOREA
CANBERRA 8 NOVEMBER 1988
Mr President,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with very great pleasure, Mr President, that we
welcome you, your wife, and your distinguished party to
Australia. This is only the second occasion on which Australia has
received a visit from the President of the Republic of
Korea. I note with pride, Mr President, that with the
exception of your visit to New York to address the United
Nations General Assembly last month, this is your first
overseas visit as President.
Coming as it does in our Bicentennial year a year of
special celebration for all Australians this visit is an
important symbol of the increasingly constructive and
friendly relationship between Australia and Korea.
And of course more specifically we see your visit as an
opportunity to congratulate you in person, and through you
all the people of the Republic of Korea, for the magnificent
way in which you staged the Games of the 24th Olympiad.
The success of the Games was due to the excellent facilities
and organisational arrangements provided by Seoul and the
other cities that staged Olympic events, and to the friendly
welcome extended by Koreans to athletes and visitors from
virtually every part of the globe.
The Games brought the Republic of Korea and its people into
the homes of millions of Australians.
Korean athletes performed outstandingly well, winning a
total of 33 medals. We congratulate you for that success.
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one of the highlights of the Games, at least for
Australians, was undoubtedly the extraordinarily keen
competition between the Australian and Korean women's hockey
players. I know, Mr President, that you were a spectator at
the final, so you will appreciate the pride we feel at
having won the gold medal.
we are delighted to have in our company today many of the
members of that women's hockey team, along with some of our
other Olympic medallists : Grant Davies, Grahame Cheney,
Brett Dutton, Wayne McCarney, Scott McGrory, Julie McDonald,
Peter Foster and Kelvin Graham.
Also here as our guests are four very special athletes
Russell Short, Deahnne McIntyre, Mathew Pobjie and Judy
Young, all from the Canberra district, who took part in the
very successful Paralympics Games in Seoul. Our disabled
Australian athletes showed a high level of courage, skill
and perseverance of which we are proud.
Mr President,
Your successful hosting of the Olympic Games was the
dramatic culmination of two important long term trends that
have characterised the history of the Republic of Korea.
Your successful economic reconstruction following the
devastation of the Korean war laid the foundations for a
rapid growth of national prosperity. And your more recent
political reforms hold the promise of a steady growth
towards democracy.
Australia is deeply interested in and supportive of both
these developments.
Australia was at the forefront of efforts, through the
United Nations, to defend the security and independence of.
the people of the Republic of Korea, when they came under,-
direct attack during the Korean war. AS you would have seen
this morning at the Australian War Memorial, Mr President,
we still honour the 339 Australians who gave their lives
during that tragic war.
That sacrifice reflects the extent of the stake we in
Australia have in the encouragement of democratic
development in your country.
So we have followed with great interest, Mr President, the
events that have taken place since your commitment of June
1987 to revise your Constitution and to hold direct,
presidential elections. We were encouraged by the amnesty
you declared in February and the elections for the National
Assembly held in April.
We also welcome your three-faceted foreign policy which
encourages peaceful reunification with North Korea, the
establishment of relations with socialist countries and the
consolidation of relations with your traditional democratic
allies, including Australia. ~ 330-3
All this suggests that a new page is opening in the
political history of the Republic. In you, Mr President, we
recognise a leader of courage and vision who has embarked on
a difficult, but fundamentally important, task, We wish you
well and we offer you our support and encouragement.
Mr President,
The recent growth in democracy and human rights in your
country follows several decades of rapidly improving living
standards within a growing economy.
There is great cause for optimism that the processes which
have led to the economic transformation of the Republic of
Korea to an industrialised nation with a favourable balance
of payments will continue. We hope, in particular, that
economic links between our two countries will continue to
grow and diversify to our mutual benefit.
Australia and the Republic of Korea lie at the northern and
the southern edges of the Pacific Rim the most
economically dynamic region of the world.
Total trade between us is worth nearly $ 3 billion and
Australia and Korea are among each other's top ten trading
partners. In different ways both of us are pursuing structural
adjustment for the long term benefit of our respective
economies and, in particular, through the creation of
increased trade and economic opportunities. In this regard
we would urge you to take up the challenge of agricultural
reform and work towards a program of full agricultural
market liberalisation.
You will know, Mr President, that we have a special interest
in the beef market, and in this regard the July announcement
of a limited re-opening of your market was a step in the
right direction. I hope you will be able to build on that
progress. our interest in the relationship, and our confidence in its
future, has prompted us to see what initiatives we can take
to sustain and diversify it further.
we have recently announced a trade and commercial
dev; elopment program, aimed at diversifying Australian trade
into Korea and maximising the opportunities for Australian
firms to participate in trade, investment and industrial,
scientific and technological co-operation. we also wish to
encourage a greater Korean commercial interest in Australia.
To stimulate business and tourist traffic further we have
agreed to negotiate a Government-to-Government Air Services
Agreement which will permit direct air links between Korea
and Australia.
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The growth and the prosperity of both our countries depend
crucially on the maintenance and enhancement of -the
multilateral trading system. It was pleasing to note Korean
participation in a meeting of senior trade officials in
Wellington in September as part of a regional consultative
process I initiated in 1983.
It is to be hoped the December mid-term Review of the
Uruguay Round can lay the groundwork for a successful
completion of the Round as well as achieving substantive
progress and reform in areas such as agriculture.
Mr President,
Until recently, economic matters have tended to dominate our
relationship. It is important to remember, however, that we
also have much to offer each other in cultural, social and
educational areas.
For our part we would welcome further Parliamentary
exchanges and visits by Korean academics and cultural
groups. In our talks on Monday we agreed to a Forum symposium on
Australia-Korea relations, with the objective of stimulating
some creative thinking on how the relationship might be
developed. An important further step to broaden and
strengthen the relationship was taken when our Foreign
Ministers Senator Evans and Mr Choi signed a memorandum of
Understanding on Science and Technology which will provide a
significant boost to our co-operation in these fields.
We still have more to do to add content to the cultural
agreement between Australia and Korea. In this regard, we
warmly welcome your suggestion to convene a Joint Cultural
Commission to discuss a forward plan of cultural activities,
and expand the scope of existing cultural and academic
exchanges. Mr President,
The relationship between Australia and Korea is newly
developed, and it still requires many dimensions before it
reaches maturity. But we have come a long way in a short
period of time, and my own visit to your country in 1984 and
your visit here at this time have done much, and will do
much, to increase mutual understanding and identify the
whole agenda of common interests that we share.
Let me wish you a successful and fruitful time for the
remainder of your current tour, and further progressive
achievements during your Presidency.