Gordon Brown and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have said they believe leaders at this week’s G20 summit will be able to reach an agreement on measures aimed at solving the economic crisis.

The two Prime Ministers met at Downing Street on 30 March 2009 ahead of the Summit on 2 April in London to prepare for the talks.

In a joint press conference, Mr Brown said they had committed to greater bilateral cooperation on security, and discussed how they would work together on economic issues.

They told reporters that although there was still work to do, it would be possible for leaders to reach an agreement on Thursday.

Mr Brown said: “The world is coming together and the results of this work will show that global problems - because these are global problems - require global solutions and I believe that the world will rise to the challenge.”

Mr Rudd said: “Progress has been achieved, progress will be achieved in London and further progress will be necessary as the year progresses, as more data emerges about the challenges in 2010.”

The two leaders emphasised the “close relationship” between their two countries and praised each other’s efforts to develop an agreement on the future of the global economy.

Mr Brown said Australian proposals to restructure the banking system would be very important to the discussions this week.

Notes for Editors

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