PM Anthony Albanese lands in Nadi before G7 in Canada

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The government has expressed alarm at the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. It comes as the prime minister makes his way to the G7 summit in Canada.

Transcript

00:00Well, the Prime Minister was actually in the air today on his way to Fiji when Israel struck

00:07Iran. But in the last little while, he's made his first comments, telling reporters that

00:12the government will be upgrading its travel advice to the region. Earlier, his Foreign

00:17Minister, Penny Wong, revealed that yesterday she met with Israel's ambassador to Australia.

00:23There were murmurings of something happening in the Middle East. And so ahead of that,

00:28Penny Wong met up with Israel's ambassador to Australia and urged the two parties to

00:33prioritise dialogue and diplomacy. We can see that that call was not heeded. The Prime Minister,

00:41Anthony Albanese, now says it's the United States that has a crucial role to play in peace in the

00:47region. Here's what he told reporters a little earlier. We are very aware of what has occurred

00:55and it is concerning any escalation in the region. My message to Australians is that the Department

01:03of Foreign Affairs and Trade are upgrading very soon the messages to Australians about warning

01:13about travel to the region. We want to see a dialogue. We, of course, are very conscious

01:21of the threat that Iran becoming a nuclear state would represent to peace and security in the region

01:28as well. We want to see these issues resolved through dialogue and the United States has been playing an

01:35important role there.

01:38And that was the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, speaking there on this issue of Israeli strikes

01:44into Iran a short time ago. Jen, actually, Anthony Albanese has met with the Fijian Prime Minister today.

01:50That's what he's there for. What was discussed?

01:54Yeah, he received a very colourful welcome as he landed here in Nandi on Fiji's resort-dotted west coast

02:00and then went straight off to a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Sidveni Rambuka.

02:06Now, Mr Rambuka is a person Mr Albanese describes as a friend and a great statesman of the Pacific.

02:11He has an influential voice here and he's considered by Australia to be an important partner

02:16as China really makes inroads here in the Pacific. We are in a time of great strategic competition,

02:24particularly in this Pacific region. And so really the point of Mr Albanese's visit here

02:29and his formal talks with the Fijian Prime Minister is to consolidate and cement Australia's relationships.

02:35Not necessarily about asking our Pacific partners to choose between China and Australia,

02:39but to ensure that Australia has strong partnerships and allies.

02:43And in fact, Mr Albanese, in his opening remarks, we haven't had a readout yet from the meeting,

02:48but from his opening remarks did make the point that he has come here to Fiji in the Pacific

02:54just six weeks after his re-election. So in his mind, making this region a priority.

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