Bilateral meeting – Opening remarks
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, Prime Minister, can I very much welcome you to Kirribilli House, and to Sydney, and to Australia. You are a very welcome guest. Australia has very good relations with Finland. And there will be some important business announcements during your visit about cooperation that we have. Our governments have very similar policies on clean energy. And I see that as being an area of increased cooperation. And I do want to take the opportunity as well to thank you for Finland’s strong support for the Australia EU Free Trade Agreement that we are hoping to finalise in 2023. We want to share economic relationships with our democracies. And I also want to congratulate you on your strong stance and support of the people of Ukraine in their struggle against what has occurred. And I was in Madrid at the NATO Summit when Finland applied for a session to the NATO Agreement. And I think that was historically a very big moment for your country. So, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your friendship with Australia. And I look forward to your visit being symbolic of strengthening those relations.
SANNA MARIN, PRIME MINISTER OF FINLAND: Thank you so much, Anthony. It’s a pleasure to be here. And thank you for the very warm welcome. We have had a very good trip so far. And as you mentioned, we have a business delegation with us and are announcing a very concrete cooperation between our businesses and our industries as well. We have so many things in common. Even though we are across the globe, we are in different parts of the globe, I think we are so similar in many ways. And we have a lot of opportunities when it comes to our business cooperation, but also, when it comes to the view of the world. I think the geopolitical situation is very severe, especially now in Europe, in Ukraine. And you’re also supporting Ukrainians very concretely when it comes to the war. And we, together, must stand by our values and the rules-based international order that is not challenged by authoritarian regimes. We also have to learn from the war from the situation, not to build that kind of dependencies with authoritarian countries that are critical that would crumble our societies. And that’s why we need trusted partners more than ever. And Australia and Finland, we have such a good bilateral relations. And as you mentioned, we are now finalising, hopefully next year, the EU Australia Free Trade Agreement that would only boost both of our economies and make our economies flourish in the future. We have also lots of tasks to be done when it comes to digitalisation, making our economics more green. And there also, we have so many possibilities within our companies and our businesses. And we are providing these green solutions. And we need you and your support as well when it comes to new innovations that we need to tackle climate change and that loss of biodiversity and also make our citizens safe and happy. So, thank you for having me.
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Thank you. Thank you so much. I am so proud that we’ve reengaged with the world. I say often in our Parliament that the entry ticket to good international relations between friends is decarbonisation and the agenda to deal with climate change and the challenge. But in dealing with it, there are such enormous opportunities, including with digitalisation, including with the use of renewable energy. We have an abundance of renewable assets, of course out there, including we produce just about every mineral that will go into an electric vehicle, for example. And I know that in terms of the supply chain issue, I think that’s an area where we can cooperate if we look at future industries, the opportunities that are there are boundless between us. And Australia has always looked, as well, to Scandinavian countries, particularly my Party, for the advanced position that you have had on gender equality, in dealing with reconciliation with First Nations people. And that is very much part of my Government’s agenda as well. We’re just six months old. So, I look forward to your advice as someone who has been in office now for a few years and is doing a terrific job leading your country.