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CANBERRA - Prime Minister John Howard has outlined his priorities for when world leaders gather in Sydney next week for the Apec summit.
In a speech to the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Mr Howard also took a veiled shot at the former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, who has repeatedly criticised the federal government's Apec priorities.
The Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) leaders week begins on Sunday, when official delegates from the 21 nations begin meeting.
But the climax of the week will be the leaders summit, on the weekend of September 8 and 9, where Mr Howard will host leaders from the 20 other Apec economies, including United States President George W Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Mr Keating, a key player in the creation of the regional talk-fest, believes Apec should be tackling issues like the nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula and relations between China and Japan.
But Mr Howard said Apec needed to take a broad view and shouldn't limit itself to a "narrow remit of issues".
"It works because of its capacity to evolve and orient itself to contemporary challenges as they emerge," he said.
"Australia's interest is in ensuring that Apec, as the only trans-Pacific regional forum, is able to engage on all the big global challenges of the day."
Climate change will be the flagship issue of the summit and Mr Howard wants Apec leaders to strike consensus on how best to deal with the problem of global warming.
He sees Apec as a crucial forerunner to a United Nations climate change meeting in Bali in December.
"The key task in Sydney is to give political direction to the shape of a future framework for climate change that is truly global," Mr Howard said.
He assured developing nations, such as China and Indonesia, that the developed world was not trying to deprive them of opportunities for growth.
"At Apec, we should strive to find agreement on principles for international action that genuinely address the problem, whilst allowing countries such as China and Indonesia to continue to grow and prosper," Mr Howard said.
"Beyond agreement on principles, I would like to see Apec leaders agree for the first time that a new international agreement should include an agreed long-term aspirational goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"I hope Apec leaders can also agree on some practical measures that complement such a goal."
He reiterated the prominence of trade as the stalled Doha round of world trade talks teeter on the brink of total collapse.
"We want to see renewed commitment to completing the Doha round negotiations of the WTO (World Trade Organisation)," Mr Howard said.
"Setbacks and sensitivities aside, Doha remains the last, best hope for reducing trade barriers worldwide and for lifting more people out of poverty."
Australia will also seek progress on discussions for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
Mr Howard said the option remained "live", particularly with Doha in such a parlous state.
"We want Apec leaders to look seriously at this proposal," he said.
- AAP
