US President George W. Bush today urged Asia-Pacific nations to keep up the fight against international terrorism.
"Pressure keeps the terrorists on the run, and when on the run, we're safer," he said during a speech to business leaders in Sydney."We must be determined, we must be focused and we must not let up."
US President George W. Bush
Mr Bush spoke optimistically about the war in Iraq and urged other nations not to turn away. "We're going to succeed in Iraq," he said.
Mr Bush called on Russia and China to honour democratic principles and allow more freedoms, and he appealed for international pressure against the military government in Burma to stop its crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the Southeast Asian nation.
The president added that North Koreans should share the same liberties that citizens of their democratic neighbours enjoy.
The president was about 15 minutes late starting his speech, as aides hustled audience members down from the balcony to fill the many empty seats below. He started his remarks with a gaffe.
In Sydney to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (Apec), a 21-nation group of Pacific Rim countries whose economies account for nearly half of all global trade, Mr Bush first referred to the group as Opec, the cartel of major oil producers.
The audience remained quiet through his speech.
Yesterday, he met China's President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the summit.
Today, he met South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. Speaking after the meeting, he said the United States would be willing to consider a formal peace treaty with North Korea if it gave up its nuclear weapons programme.