Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with a range of foreign leaders during and on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos.
Delivering the opening remarks at the summit, Albanese said Australia is committed to working to ensure ASEAN remains at the centre of a dynamic and stable region.
“[A region] where the sovereignty of every nation is respected and where all of us work together to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the decades ahead,” he said.
The PM took to X to share a picture of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
He wrote that the group had reaffirmed “our shared values and commitment to work together on international trade, the rule of law, climate change action and international peace and security”.
Earlier on Thursday, the final block in a $20 billion trade embargo on Australian exports to China was lifted, as Albanese announced he had struck an agreement with Chinese Premier Li Qiang to reopen exports of live lobsters.
China’s imposed extensive trade sanctions as an act of political retribution against the Morrison government in 2020, hitting barley, wine, lobster, timber, major beef exporters, timber and cotton.
Read more on the lobster embargo here.
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