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AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
OTTAWA
OTTAWA
MEDIA RELEASE
ASIA PACIFIC COMMUNITY CONFERENCE
16 December 2009
Prime Minister Rudd’s Asia Pacific community initiative was discussed at a major international conference in Sydney on 3-5 December. More than 140 academics, analysts and government officials attended, from 21 countries, including Canada.
The conference was hosted by the PM’s Special Envoy, Richard Woolcott and co-chaired by Dr Michael Wesley of the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, and Madame Ton Nu Thi Ninh, President of the Founding Committee of Tri Viet International University in Vietnam.
The conference was a ‘1.5 track’ process, and not a government-to-government negotiation. It did not seek to reach agreed conclusions, but rather was intended to take forward discussion in the region.
Discussion at the conference was free flowing and open, and a range of viewpoints were advanced. This was expected and indeed, was one of the strengths of the conference. It was clear from proceedings that participants agreed on the importance of the region addressing contemporary challenges on a regional basis.
In his remarks to the conference, Mr Rudd said that the region had been well served to date by institutions created in the past, but that the region lacked an institution with the membership and mandate to deal with the range of challenges it was facing.
Former ROK Prime Minister Dr Han Seung-soo also spoke at the conference, arguing for the architecture of the region to be restructured.
The conference website is www.apc2009conference.org