Australia Prime Minister spends the night camping on Kokoda Track

ABC NEWS (Australia)

After an elaborate tribal welcome to the mountains of Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spent the night camping on the Kokoda Track.

Transcript

00:00Here in the Owen Stanley Ranges on the Kokoda Track, both Prime Ministers of Australia and

00:07Papua New Guinea, Anthony Albanese and James Marape, have spent the night under stars,

00:12camping here at Deneke Campground after hiking for several hours yesterday up to this site

00:18and climbing several hundred metres in elevation.

00:21They were welcomed as they passed through villages along the track with flowers, songs

00:27and stories.

00:28They were joined on this trek by the local Governor of Oro Province, as well as a phalanx

00:32of security, advisers, porters and us in the media too.

00:37They'll continue towards Isarava Village for an Anzac Day dawn service tomorrow where as

00:43many as 400 people will commemorate a pivotal battle on the Kokoda Track in 1942.

00:50Now the purpose for this unprecedented joint trek has been made clear by both leaders.

00:55They want to acknowledge a shared history, to embody the friendship of the two nations

01:00and to promote peace in the region.

01:03At a time when China is looking to increase its influence in the region, the personal

01:08friendship being forged on these muddy tracks between Anthony Albanese and James Marape

01:14helps build a closer relationship between the two countries.

Category

Transcript

Recommended