PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentlemen, APEC retains its great significance to Australia. It';s the one international grouping that enables the Prime Minister of Australia to meet the President of the United States, the President of Russia, the President of China, the President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of Japan, and the leaders of many other countries. It is therefore very important to that duality in the Australian trade and international relationship of North America and Asia. I hope that the meeting will be productive. I';m sure that we';ll talk further about cooperation against terrorism. I will also be pushing very strongly indeed for all of the countries concerned to try and breathe some life back into the Doha trade negotiation round. Australia still believes very strongly that it';s in the interests of developing countries especially, and of course Australia as well, that trade barriers be reduced, and the major trading blocs, particularly the European Union, remain significant obstacles to that objective and I hope that some fresh energy can be given to that cause out of the APEC meeting. Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
On terrorism, exactly where do you hope discussions will go?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it';s important to focus on cooperation. The more cooperation there can be, the better. In many ways, cooperation between Australia and Indonesia and Singapore and other countries in the region is a template for what the wider world should do. We have grown very close to Indonesia in the fight against terrorism since the attack in Bali and the cooperation between our agencies has been exemplary. Thank you.
[ends]