Transcript of interview with Al Jazeera Arabic

Transcript E&OE, proof only.

Subjects: relations with Libya

Tripoli, Libya

8 December 2011

Minister Rudd: Well I'm very glad to be here in Libya and I'm glad to be here in Tripoli for the birth of the new Libya.

We in Australia have followed the revolution very closely. The Australian Government was the first government in the world to call for the UN Security Council to implement a no fly zone for Libya. The first government in the world to call for the referral of the Gaddafi regime to the International Criminal Court. And when the conflict was underway, we helped meet the Libyan people's humanitarian needs and we are proud of those facts. But we are here in Libya now to discuss the future of our relationship.

Today I have had excellent discussions with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Minister for Agriculture, the Deputy Foreign Minister and others.

We've looked at how we now cooperate closely in agriculture, in areas of dry land farming and range lands farming, how we cooperate more closely in higher education, how we cooperate more closely in health.

But also in the immediate term, we have been providing financial support to United Nations agencies here in Tripoli to help prepare for your national elections, to engage in the demining process across the country so that we can remove unexploded ordnances and also how we help the World Health Organisation assist Libyans who have been traumatised by the war.

We are confident we have got a good relationship for the future. This has been an excellent visit to establish contact directly with the new Libyan government.

Journalist: Are you going to continue your same relations with Libya? How about the problem of the students, how did you deal with the students?

Minister Rudd: Well the critical difference is this; Libya is now part of the family of emerging democracies. In the past, Libya was not. Under the dictatorship of the Qaddafi family there was no room for political freedom — now there is. This is a great development, not just in the Arab world but across the world. That's part of the reason I'm here.

So you ask therefore what is different. We are now part of the same family of democracies, the same set of democratic values. That means we can talk to each other much more easily. As for the future, we intend to deepen the commercial relationship, not just in oil and gas and mining where Australia is very experienced, but in new areas as well, in education, in research and in health and in areas like that.

You ask also about Libyan students in Australia. Well when your revolution was underway here in Libya, we found nearly a thousand Libyan students stranded in Australia, nowhere to go. And also because there was a state of war here, their money dried up. So we faced a particular challenge but in close coordination with Libya's Ambassador to Australia and also with the National Transitional Council, we, through the Australian Foreign Ministry, provided a loan to all these kids to enable them support to continue their university studies. I think that's helped them in a very difficult time. They will complete their studies in Australia and when they return to Libya they are going to be great ambassadors for Australia but also they are going to help build the new Libya and that is what we want to be, partners in for the long term.

Thank you very much for having me on your program.

ENDS

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