Joint press conference with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store

Subjects: Visit to Norway; IMF; Afghanistan; President Obama's speech on the Middle East

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

Government Guest House, Oslo, Norway

20 May 2011

JONAS GAHR STORE: Basically we had a full round of discussions with Kevin Rudd who is a respected, knowledgeable and welcome guest of Norway both for the Prime Minister, Minister for Development Cooperation and for me. We have discussed Afghanistan, we have discussed global issues, institutional issues, G20 and also some regional issues from Kevin's own region. Useful, always grateful, and I look forward to welcoming him back.

KEVIN RUDD: Firstly it's great to be back in Oslo and I've been here many times over the years. I came here first as a young diplomat more years ago than I care to remember. This is a very important relationship with Australia. We do a lot together in the world. Often it's not visible to communities in Australia and Norway how much we collaborate deeply and closely on the global challenges of the day, including on questions of the Middle East, Afghanistan, climate change and international development assistance. Norway of course is the single most generous donor country in the world and Australia is increasing its own international aid assistance significantly.

We are also cooperating on other challenges such as arms control and disarmament. So this has been one of a series of productive meetings we have had over the last the six months. We have seen each other probably every month and we have focused on the Middle East. We have also discussed the continuing tragedy in Syria and the reaction of the regime there and the continued campaign in Libya where we in Australia are highly supportive of actions taken by Norway.

Our troops have committed together in Afghanistan for the long haul. Australia has 1500 troops in Afghanistan. We've been there from the beginning. Jonas and I have touched on these issues and other questions on the international agenda.

JOURNALIST: Who would be Australia's preferred candidate to head the IMF. Should it be a European or should it be someone from the BRIC countries or emerging markets?

KEVIN RUDD: We take the IMF seriously. We have worked closely with the Bretton Woods system since the 1940s. And we've been in these institutions from day one. Therefore our view is very much this: The first and only criteria should be merit. We want someone who is technically qualified with support from across the world, not from any particular region, but from across the world.

Let's remember that the IMF has been given the responsibility by the G20 post the global financial crisis of mutual assessment of the macro economic performance of the major economies of the world in order to provide long term sustainable global growth. So what's our answer to your question? Merit. That must be the criteria. Geography must come second.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)

KEVIN RUDD: On the question of regional orientation, it's important that we are mindful of the shifting global geo-economic realities. And the fact is that in the decades ahead, forty per cent of global GDP will come from the Asia Pacific region - something I made clear in my remarks yesterday to students at Oslo University.

The primary factor to be considered in the appointment of a new Head of the IMF is merit. Therefore we will be very attentive to which candidates come forward. We will look closely at their ability to do the job, their ability to command respect from across the various regions of the world, both emerging and developed, and those large and small.

JOURNALIST: Of the names already circulating, do you see someone who fits the bill?

KEVIN RUDD: I could see many people who fit the bill. But this is a collective matter for deliberation by the Australian Government in Canberra. At this stage, I don't think it is productive to nominate individuals myself but we believe that having the right person must have the support of the global financial community, the principal financial institutions, and the regions of the world. That may be someone from the Asia Pacific, it may be someone from elsewhere, but I think we all need to take a deep breath. Rather than turn this into some horse race, we should regard it as a serious question about appointing the best person based on merit.

JOURNALIST: Do you have a preferred candidate from the emerging economies?

KEVIN RUDD: What I'm saying is that the candidate should be considered from across the world and that is the right course of action. And in our part of the world, the Asia-Pacific, there are many dynamic and important economies.

If you look at the change in the quota structure of the IMF following the most recent series of G20 meetings, it follows that emerging economies will have a larger say. So there could be candidates from Australia, the Asia-Pacific, Americas or Europe. But my key point is the ultimate decision should rest on merit. These are uncertain economic times and we need a person that has technical competence and respect across the global institutions and economies.

JOURNALIST: A journalist from the Economist has said Christine Lagarde is the most suitable candidate for IMF leader. Would Australia be happy if Lagarde was IMF leader?

KEVIN RUDD: Jonas and I know her well. I saw her recently in Paris only a little while ago and she is a highly competent person. And there are a number of other highly competent people who have already been put forward, and probably a range other people who will consider nomination. As I said, we should regard this not just as a horse race. This is a question of serious talent and serious ability.

JOURNALIST: Is Australia considering putting forward its own candidate?

KEVIN RUDD: I'll be returning to Australia having gone through China. I'll work through this issue in Cabinet in the early days of next week.

JOURNALIST: Will you be discussing this with your Chinese counterparts?

KEVIN RUDD: I won't be in Beijing. I will be in Guangdong so that would be unlikely. As I said, if you've been at recent G20 summits, you cannot underestimate how important this institution is. It is the key piece of machinery for report cards to the G20 on macroeconomic performance. We are seeking to ensure that we don't end up with the same set of macroeconomic imbalances which underpinned so much of the difficulties we encountered in 2007-08.

JOURNALIST: What about Afghanistan considering the departure of Osama bin Laden. From Australia's point of view, what is the right political and military strategy?

KEVIN RUDD: The Lisbon strategy, the one we've all agreed for NATO and ISAF forces. We like Norway have been committed to Afghanistan for a long time. I've placed on record my appreciation for the consistency of the Norwegian Government for its deployment in Afghanistan. We know that this will be tough and hard in our domestic constituencies but it's the right thing to do. So what does the Lisbon strategy entail? It is an integrated military strategy covering training for both police and the Afghan national army. It includes a development strategy for the critical levers of health, education and roads. And beyond that, the strategy promotes a process of political dialogue and reconciliation at a provincial level. That is what we seek to do in Uruzgan Province.

The key thing is to maintain our resolve. It has been a difficult and hard fighting season in Afghanistan. ISAF forces together with Afghan partners have made significant progress in the last 12 months. So we anticipate a hard year. We are very mindful of the framework which has been established in transitioning security responsibility to the Karzai Government in 2014.

JOURNALIST: President Obama made a landmark speech yesterday. Can we have your views about it?

KEVIN RUDD: The Norwegian Foreign Minister and I have been discussing this at some length this morning. This is an important contribution by President Obama to a difficult process. As Jonas reminded me today, part of that process occurred in this building here in Oslo, where the Oslo Accords were signed some time ago. Norway has a logical and continuing interest in this process. I commend publicly the role that Norway's Foreign Minister Store has played in recent times.

From Australia's perspective, we support what President Obama has said. We believe that it is an important contribution to the Peace Process. It is an important opportunity for parties to engage between now and the end of the year. It is an important step forward. We look forward with interest to the way Israeli President Netanyahu responds when he visits the United States and the remarks he will make during his visit. We have noted some of the comments made by others in the Middle East but we see this as an important step forward.

JOURNALIST: The Palestinian Authority (inaudible) and asked for recognition. What is the Australian take?

KEVIN RUDD: Our view is that the key objective is building the fundamentals and foundation stones of a substantive future Palestinian state. That is why we work so closely with Norway in providing capacity to our friends in Ramallah to build the infrastructure for that state.

Australia is about to become one of the top ten financial donors to the PA. We are the first country I believe to provide multi-year funding commitments to provide them with budgetary certainty for the future. Secondly, what we hope to do in partnership with our friends and colleagues in Norway and elsewhere is engage both the PA and the Israeli Government with whom we have very long and close relations. We are in our own way below the radar encouraging the completion of the Peace Process. That's where Australian diplomacy now lies and that will be our focus between now and the end of the year.

END

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