Doorstop – Bali | Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well it’s wonderful to be back in Indonesia again for my second visit as Prime Minister. And I had very fruitful discussions with President Widodo in Phnom Penh and I’m looking forward to our bilateral meeting this afternoon. It’s such a warm welcome here from our Indonesian friends, and I thank the Tourism Minister and the Governor of Bali for that warm welcome for myself, but really, myself as a representative of Australia. We have some 80,000 Australians are now visiting Bali and Indonesia every month, and that’s a good thing. We look forward to a further opening up and there being further economic engagement. The G20 meeting comes at a critical time for the international community. We have to deal with the challenge of climate change. We also have pressure on supply chains. And, of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is placing pressure in terms of international inflation and that pressure that’s there on the international economy. I’m here to give support to President Widodo, and I look forward to a successful summit this afternoon, along with President Widodo and Prime Minister Modi, the incoming Chair of the G20. I’ll be addressing the B20, the gathering of international business leaders that’s taking place here in Bali today. That’s an important opportunity to put forward the challenges that the international economy is facing and to put Australia’s perspective that we need to make sure we deal with supply chains, that we deal with open and free markets, that we have appropriate trade without restrictions, and that we make sure that our economies are inclusive. After, today, I have a bilateral with President Widodo. Tomorrow, I will be having a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi. That will take place tomorrow afternoon and I’m looking forward to that constructive meeting. On Wednesday, I’ll be meeting with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, then having bilaterals with French President Emmanuel Macron, with Prime Minister Modi of India, and also with the newly-appointed UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. In addition to that, there will be a range of other bilaterals and pull-asides over coming days. It will be a busy period. I regard it as a great honour to represent Australia at the G20 and I’m looking forward to constructive dialogue with my fellow leaders.
JOURNALIST: The Chinese Premier Li says that he’s willing to work with Australia but wants to meet half-way. What do you understand that to mean?
PRIME MINISTER: Australia will put forward our own position. I look forward to having a constructive discussion with President Xi tomorrow.
JOURNALIST: What will you be saying to President Xi about the need to apply pressure to Russia over the war in Ukraine? Will you be sending a message on that front?
PRIME MINISTER: We have a very clear position, and it’s a consistent position, that there is a need for Russia to withdraw from this aggressive action that is against international law and that is creating hardship, particularly of course in Ukraine, but is also damaging the international economy and damaging international food security.
JOURNALIST: How hopeful are you that meeting with President Xi will lead to changes in terms of sanctions coming off Australian goods?
PRIME MINISTER: We enter this discussion with goodwill. There are no preconditions on this discussion. I’m looking forward to having constructive dialogue. I’ve said since I became the Prime Minister, but before then as well, that dialogue is always a good thing. We need to talk in order to develop mutual understanding. Thank you.