Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh of Laos have today announced their intention to elevate the bilateral relationship between Australia and Laos to a Comprehensive Partnership.
The announcement followed their meeting in Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the 2nd Annual ASEAN-Australia Summit and East Asia Summit and is part of the Government’s strategy to deepen Australia’s engagement in Southeast Asia.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Prime Minister, I am very pleased to be meeting you in-person after we had such a very warm conversation on the phone yesterday. It is good to be here in Cambodia where we are meeting world leaders and discussing ways to address the pressing global issues which we confront.
HIS EXCELLENCY PHANKHAM VIPHAVANH, PRIME MINISTER OF THE LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: I’m very pleased and delighted to have the opportunity to meet Your Excellency Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia today. Certainly, this is the very first time since Australia has formed a new Government. And I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere congratulations to Your Excellency on assuming the Office of Prime Minister of Australia.
Mr Speaker, there are some basic yardsticks by which any civilised society should measure itself.
One of them is that everyone has the right to a safe and respectful workplace.
And yet here we are, nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, still working towards this goal.
The fact that workplaces have not been safe or respectful for so many Australians is unacceptable.
As is the fact that the previous government dismissed this goal as impractical, not worth striving for. That what we had was somehow good enough.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will join world leaders at premier international and regional summits in Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand from 11–19 November.
The Prime Minister will meet with counterparts at the East Asia, ASEAN, G20 and APEC Summits to discuss the most pressing strategic, economic and climate challenges facing the region and world.
The Prime Minister will travel to Phnom Penh from 11–14 November to attend the East Asia Summit, the region’s premier leader led forum for strategic discussion.
DYLAN ALCOTT, AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR: Hey everyone, thanks for coming here to talk about something that we're really passionate about. It's so awesome to launch The Field today, as you just saw this is not me, it’s we. So many people with disability created this, worked on this for over 18 months. And we want to thank the Prime Minister, Minister Rishworth and Minister Shorten for backing us, for supporting us, and to get this platform out there. We really, really, really appreciate it.
SABRA LANE, HOST: After attending a Remembrance Day Service in Sydney this morning, the Prime Minister jets off for a nine day trip around the region to attend key meetings with world leaders. Anthony Albanese is attending the ASEAN East Asia Summit in Cambodia, the G20 in Indonesia and the APEC summit in Thailand. There's a chance at one of these events he might meet face to face with China's President Xi Jinping. Mr Albanese joins us now. Good morning, welcome back.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Sabra.
BEN FORDHAM, HOST: Now the Prime Minister is heading overseas. He'll attend three conferences in Asia with some of our closest allies. But of most interest is the global event starting on November 15 in Bali, the G20 Summit. It looks like the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, will be a no show but the US President, Joe Biden, is set to be there and the same goes for the Chinese President, Xi Jinping. Anthony Albanese will be taking off today. But first, he's on the line. PM, good morning to you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: It’s been a great honour for me to be here today for the Remembrance Day commemorations. We must always remember the brave men and women who’ve defended our nation at our time of need, who've made the ultimate sacrifice, and today's the day in which Australians do just that. And today's the day, also, that we remember those who didn't come home, but those who have come home with issues that are ongoing, many of which have been identified by the Royal Commission into Veterans Suicide, that is doing its ongoing work.
I would like to thank Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia for his generous hospitality and leadership of ASEAN.
I commend your efforts in delivering on the theme – ‘Addressing Challenges Together’.
I also thank Prime Minister Phankham of Laos for his partnership as Australia’s ASEAN Country Coordinator.
We come together as neighbours and steadfast partners and friends.
We are united not only by geography but by our determination to advance common interests and principles.
Australia is proud to be ASEAN’s oldest Dialogue Partner.