Lighthearted start to serious chat
AUSTRALIA’S Ashes capitulation has kicked off talks between Scott Morrison and his British counterpart Boris Johnson, who met for the first time on the G7 sidelines.
Mr Morrison congratulated the British PM on England’s historic win at Headingley, but Mr Johnson said he wouldn’t take the one-wicket victory for granted ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
“We’ve got two to go,” Mr Johnson said.
Following the cricket jibes, the pair got down to business discussing the global economy, a post-Brexit trade deal and maritime security during talks at the G7 leaders’ summit in the French town of Biarritz.
Mr Morrison said he had assured the British MP that Australia was “ready to go” on a free trade deal with the UK after the October 31 Brexit deadline.
“I was encouraged by his confidence of being able to work through the Brexit process and get to the starting line on this,” Mr Morrison said.
Co-operation in space, the Hong Kong protests and the South China Sea were also on the agenda during the 40-minute meeting. Ahead of the private talk, Mr Johnson appeared enthusiastic about Australia’s willingness to join Britain on an American-led mission to protect ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian threats.
Mr Morrison confirmed that he had discussed the mission with Mr Johnson and reassured him that Australia wasn’t being dragged into a broader conflict against Iran.
It comes one day after Mr Morrison was blindsided by the arrival of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the G7 summit. The Prime Minister refused to say whether he would meet with the Iranian minister, saying: “We have already had engagements with the government of Iran in relation to our most recent announcement.”
Ahead of the G7 summit, the British PM pledged to confront US President Donald Trump over the ongoing trade row with China. Mr Morrison said he discussed the tariff war with both Mr Johnson and Mr Trump on Sunday.
LEADERS of the Group of Seven nations said yesterday they were preparing to help Brazil battle fires burning across the Amazon region and repair the damage as tens of thousands of soldiers got ready to join the fight against blazes that have caused global alarm.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the summit leaders were nearing an agreement on how to support Brazil and the deal would involve both technical and financial mechanisms “so that we can help them in the most effective way possible”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country and others would talk with Brazil about reforestation in the Amazon once fires there had been extinguished.
“Of course (this is) Brazilian territory, but we have a question here of the rainforests that is really a global question,” she said. “The lung of our whole Earth is affected, and so we must find common solutions.”
Pope Francis also added his voice to the chorus of concern over the fires in Brazil, which borders his homeland Argentina, and urged people to pray so that “they are controlled as quickly as possible”. He warned that the green “lung of forest is vital for our planet”.