Event Summary
On March 31, the Brookings Institution hosted the Prime Minister of Australia, the Honorable Kevin Rudd MP, who spoke about Australia, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Kevin Rudd is the 26th Prime Minister of Australia and leader of the federal Australian Labor Party.
Event Information
When
Monday, March 31, 2008
10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Where
Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
Before being sworn in as Prime Minister in December 2007, Mr. Rudd was Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Parliament. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 1998, representing the electorate of Griffith, Queensland. Prior to becoming Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Rudd served as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Security, and Shadow Minister for Trade.
Brookings Chairman John L. Thornton provided introductory remarks and Senior Fellow Jeffrey A. Bader moderated the discussion. After the program, the Prime Minister took audience questions.
Transcript
PRIME MINISTER RUDD: For Australia and the United States, strategic stability in the Asia Pacific is of crucial importance, both now and for the future. We are both committed to market economies in an open global economic order.
Our alliance is steeped in history. But it is also part of our framework for meeting the challenges of the future. The purpose of my remarks today is to reflect on the continued importance of U.S. global leadership, to reflect on the new Australian government's foreign policy framework, and to make some observations on how we both might engage China in the future, and how we might shape together China's engagement with the global and regional architecture of the future.
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Participants
Introduction
John L. Thornton
Chairman of the Board, The Brookings Institution
Featured Speaker
The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister of Australia