Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott held a private leaders-only retreat ahead of G20 talks that are scheduled to focus on economic growth, energy security and tax reform, at which he called for the formal meetings to be open and friendly.
“The people around this room are... the most powerful and influential people in this world,” Abbott told attendees including US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We may not always be able to agree but I hope we can at least be open with each other,” he said, urging his fellow leaders to speak from the heart, not the “script.”
“And if we could use first names, that would be good as well. Because whatever disagreements we might have, it helps if there can at least be personal warmth amongst us,” he said.
Abbott then hosted an outdoor lunch with tents as shade as temperatures soared above 30°C.
On the menu were king prawns as well as rock oysters, smoked spiced lamb and Tasmanian ocean trout. The meal was completed by pavlova, the meringue and cream dessert claimed by both Australia and New Zealand.
The leaders’ retreat was seen as an “ice-breaker” ahead of the formal G20 talks scheduled for yesterday and today, which come after Abbott, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Obama spoke out strongly over Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Putin has faced a frosty reception from Western leaders following the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in July, killing 298 people, including 38 Australian residents.
Cameron on Friday slammed Russia for “bullying” Ukraine while Abbott accused Putin of trying to relive “the lost glories of tsarism.”
Brisbane’s G20 has been distinctly antipodean, with the leaders’ spouses taken to feed koalas and kangaroos yesterday morning and also watching a demonstration of sheep shearing.
Despite the sober nature of the talks, there have been light-hearted touches, with Cameron joking about Abbott’s love of exercise and Obama referencing sharks and crocodiles in an address to a Queensland university.
“I love Australia. I really do. The only problem with Australia is that every time I come here I’ve got to sit in conference rooms and talk to politicians instead of going to the beach,” Obama said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was another leader taking the long-haul visit in her stride, charming locals by visiting a Brisbane pub on Friday night.
Photographs of Merkel meeting locals at a popular bar circulated on social media, spreading cheer in a city on security lockdown with thousands of police on the streets and huge wire fences erected around meeting venues and surrounding precincts.
“We expected her to be ushered inside [the bar] really quickly, but she didn’t, in fact, she chose to come over,” one woman, who did not want to give her name, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “She was very kind. My friend said ‘Oh, can I get a quick selfie?’ She [Merkel] checked with her security detail, they gave her a nod and she popped in for a quick photo.”
The leaders were scheduled to line up for a family photo later yesterday, before a working dinner at the Gallery of Modern Art.
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