Former prime minister Kevin Rudd is in Canberra for a round of high-profile speeches this week, marking his return to Australia after serving as ambassador to Washington DC.
Rudd spoke at the Australian Institute of International Affairs on Wednesday night and will be at the National Press Club today.
He said Australia must continue to push multilateral diplomacy, even as Donald Trump withdraws the US from a range of important global institutions. Australia, as a leading middle power, should promote the United Nations system, which has support across Asia and Europe, according to Rudd.
double quotation markThere remains an opportunity for Australia, in partnership with other middle powers around the world, to put our shoulders to the wheel in supporting those UN multilateral institutions which now find themselves under financial and institutional pressure as a result of the US withdrawing.
Australia remains active in the UN, the IMF and the World Bank. We remain active in the G20 and in APEC.
We remain active in major regional institutions, such as the Pacific Islands Forum, where the government has once again registered a remarkable series of foreign policy achievements.
Rudd said this kind of serious engagement would “put flesh on the bones” of the plan outlined by the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, at Davos earlier this year.
double quotation markAnd it would mark a deeply practical contribution to sustaining the multilateral rules-based system as America resolves its internal domestic debate on its future posture within it.
