Blair flies to Australia
Sunday, 26 Mar 2006 09:35
Blair flies to Australia
Tony Blair has cheered on Britain's athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
The prime minister and his wife Cherie will attend the closing ceremony with other world leaders today, which will mark the end of the 12-day sports competition.
Mr and Mrs Blair arrived in Melbourne yesterday on the final day of events, at the start of a tour of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.
They joined 80,000 people watching the finale of the games in Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"It's an amazing atmosphere and an incredible stadium," the prime minister told the BBC.
"You can see from a stadium like this what it would be like in London. It would be fantastic."
Mr Blair is expected to hold talks with John Howard, the Australian prime minister, in the capital Canberra tomorrow.
He will make a speech to Australia's parliament on foreign policy, and it is reported that he will then discuss the Iraq war and security issues with Mr Howard.
Both prime ministers are key allies on the war against terror and have both sent their country's troops to Iraq despite widespread opposition.
Mr Howard described Mr Blair's visit as a "valuable opportunity to discuss the expansion of the Australia-UK relationship, our shared commitment to stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and our common interest in fighting global terrorism".
