Abbott starts G20 day with bilateral talks

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will kick off the first day of the G20 summit in Brisbane with three bilateral meetings.

ustralian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (L) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (R) shaking hands prior to the bilateral meeting ahead of the start of G20 in Brisbane

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indonesian President Joko Widodo shaking hands prior to the bilateral meeting ahead of the start of G20 in Brisbane (AAP

Trade and infrastructure are on the agenda for Prime Minister Tony Abbott as he kicks off the first day of the Brisbane G20 summit with bilateral meetings.

Mr Abbott will meet with the leaders of Brazil, Spain and Italy before hosting a lunch and launching into formal talks later in the day.

The prime minister had dinner with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday night, where they discussed trade and security.

G20 finance ministers will meet on Saturday morning to thrash out a number of outstanding issues before handing the agenda over to leaders.

US President Barack Obama will arrive early morning in Air Force One before delivering a speech on America's leadership in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Obama plans to meet Mr Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss bolstering defence ties, as Russia and China flex their military muscle in the region.

Australia wants the summit to conclude on Sunday with each country spelling out how they will deliver at least two per cent growth by 2018, through structural reforms as well as more spending on infrastructure and lowering trade barriers.


Share
2 min read

Published



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world