陆克文联合记招.docVIP

President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia East Room PRIME MINISTER RUDD: Thank you. Thanks very much, George, and its a pleasure to be here in Washington, with my wife, Therese. And its great to be here at the White House. And thanks for your hospitality in having us at Blair House. We really appreciate that. Our alliance doesnt simply reflect our shared past. Our alliance defines our common future as two of the worlds great democracies. I was thinking about this, this morning, about the number of Presidents and Prime Ministers who have been party to this alliance, both Republican and Democrat, and both in our country, Labor and Liberal. This alliance has been supported by 12 American Presidents, Republican and Democrat. Its been supported by 13 Australian Prime Ministers, Labor and Liberal, and Im the 14th. And Im confident that this alliance has a strong, robust future. And the reason Im confident of that is because its rooted in shared values. We actually take the ideal of democracy seriously. Its not a casual thought, its not a -- its just not a passing observation; its something which is part and parcel of who we are as peoples. So when you have an alliance which is rooted in a common set of values, it tends to mean that alliance is going to last for a bit. And theres the things weve done together right from the Second World War to the present, and theres been many of them. And weve been in the field together, and there are many other areas in wider foreign policy where we cooperate, as well. Turning to the future, the President indicated we discussed the current challenges facing the global economy. And this is, for us in Australia, a global challenge. Obviously the United States, as the worlds largest economy, is fundamentally significant in the way in which this thing plays out. But our response, and we discussed this at some length, is looking at how we can get some better transparency out ther