Australian FM to attend East Asia Summit

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will leave for the Philippines Saturday to meet other foreign ministers from the region this weekend for the East Asia Summit (EAS).

The Asian nation is the first stop of Downer's two-week tour, during which he will also visit the United States, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom to discuss security, energy and trade.

On Dec. 9 and 10, Downer will visit Cebu in the Philippines to participate in the EAS.

"I look forward to contributing to the EAS' development as it defines further its role in regional integration and community building," he said.

He said discussions at the Summit will cover a range of priority issues affecting the region, including energy, financial issues and avian influenza.

"The EAS has particular relevance to Australia, with over 60 percent of our merchandise trade bound for the other 15 member countries," he said.

He will also meet separately with his counterparts from Japan, Indonesia, Burma, the Philippines and India while in Cebu.

He will co-sign, with his counterparts from each of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, a Joint Declaration on an ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Partnership.

"The Declaration will demonstrate Australia's long-term commitment to deepening further our ties with ASEAN, and will provide a framework for future engagement covering political, security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation issues," he said.

It was reported that Iraq is certain to dominate discussions following the release of the report by the Iraq Study Group, which believes the current U.S. policy on Iraq isn't working and recommended the staged withdrawal of U.S. troops and a handover to Iraqi military and police forces..

"(It) will be an important opportunity for Australia to continue close coordination with the United States on current security challenges, both regional and global," Downer said.

Source: Xinhua