Comments at the Signing of the Australia-Turkey Joint Action Plan

Ankara, Turkey

Speech, E&OE, proof only

1 February 2011

Thank you very much Foreign Minister. Firstly, if I could thank the Government of Turkey for their great hospitality in my visit to Istanbul yesterday and to Ankara today. Could I also thank the Turkish Government and the Turkish people for their kind expressions of condolences, solidarity and support during the recent great floods in Australia in my home state of Queensland and my home city of Brisbane. The solidarity from the Turkish people has meant a lot to all the people back home.

Today it was also my honour to lay a wreath at the national memorial to Kemal Ataturk. This figure of history is not just a figure of history for the people of Turkey. In the foundation of modern Turkey, Ataturk was a figure of international history. And it was my great privilege to have attended that ceremony on behalf of the Government of Australia and to observe something of his extensive knowledge, the reach of his statesmanship: as I said to the Foreign Minister before, a man of extraordinary wide reading and learning.

The Foreign Minister has just now pointed to the scope of our relations – bilateral, regional and global. My purpose in coming to Ankara is very clear. And that is for the Turkey Foreign Minister and I to agree that this relationship between us will now enter a new phase. It has benefited from enormous, strong and positive feelings in the past. Canakkale, we've spoken about a lot. The waves of Turkish migrants to Australia who have made a great contribution to our country. But here we are in the 21st century where we are economies of more than one trillion dollars. We both have open political systems, strong economies, open economies. As well as an active diplomacy around the world and in our own particular regions. Therefore we are signalling a new partnership between Turkey and Australia in the councils of the world. We believe that we have things to offer and this is often done through what I've often called in the past in Australia and elsewhere in the world, 'creative middle power diplomacy'.

I've admired many of the diplomatic initiatives with which my foreign ministerial colleague has engaged his own personality, his own efforts and I esteem the energy and the intellectual creativity which I see behind so many of those efforts. If I could make a broad comment about it. It is always easy for people to criticise activist foreign policies, but the truth is, unless some of us are activist, many problems go unaddressed and unsolved. Therefore, as we would say in Australia, it's always important to 'have a go' and that is what our friends in Turkey are doing; that is what we seek to do as well.

But for the future, if we undertake some common diplomatic challenges together, both regionally and globally, I believe the world would benefit from our combined diplomatic enterprise.

Bilaterally, the Minister raised a number of matters with me. We will intensify our political consultation as he just indicated. I think it's time our respective business communities undertook a psychological change. We're in the 21st century; we're not just bound by geography anymore. We are in contact with one another in an instant. We can be video-conferencing. Our corporates can be video-conferencing at any time of day or night.

And given how creative and entrepreneurial the good people of Turkey are, I think there is great new opportunities for these two private sectors, these two entrepreneurial classes, these business leaders in both our countries to take on joint projects around the world.

Also, I would argue that the Foreign Minister's suggestion of using 2015 and 2016 as years in which to honour and to celebrate Turkey in Australia and then Australia in Turkey is a good proposal, which I fully support.

And it is time that we introduce to one another the modern Turkey and the modern Australia in all of its diversity, in all of its international engagement and all of its cultural richness. That, therefore, Foreign Minister is an excellent proposal.

Regionally, we have much to learn from each other. Where we are in the Asia-Pacific, where Turkey finds itself in the wider Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia as well as the Balkans and beyond. And I believe that the Minister's statement before accurately reflects what we have to learn from each other.

Of course, when discussing these regional questions, we have also exchanged views on recent developments in Egypt, events which we are both following with great concern. And following with great concern the safety and well-being of our nationals in that country as well, given the instability of developments there.

Globally, the Minister has also referred to the excellent cooperation we have in the G20. This is a very important body and therefore the challenge for the future is for countries like ourselves, Turkey, other countries like Indonesia, Korea, Mexico; those who have joined such an institution for the first time to deliver our own momentum to the continuation of this institution and for its agenda to be robust and for it forge new agreements and achieve breakthroughs in areas which have historically been bogged down – whether it's in the UNFCCC on climate change or whether it's the WTO on free trade.

Lastly, if I could say to my friend and colleague, your Foreign Minister, how much I esteem him personally. Around the world today, I think it is quite plain that there is a consensus that the Foreign Minister of Turkey is a leading world diplomats today. And that is accepted in the councils of North America, of Europe and in the developing world as well, as in my own region of Asia. And therefore it is a privilege for me to be here with him today, to spend some time and I look forward very much, Foreign Minister, to spending more time with you in further engagements as we tackle regional and global challenges in the year ahead.

I thank you.

Can I add one thing on Egypt before we take a question. I have been conscious from public statements of the role taken by the Government of Turkey. From our perspective, they have been quite clear and they have been quite constructive. The second point I'd make is, whatever debate you may have within Turkey about statements on the situation in Eygpt (I'll leave that to your domestic political debate), but can I say this: what comes through loud and clear across Egypt and across the Middle East is the living example of Turkey.

Here you have a modern democracy, a strong economy with economic opportunities for all. That is a very clear message to people in Egypt by its example and a very clear message elsewhere in the Middle East.

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