After an elaborate tribal welcome to the mountains of Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spent the night camping on the Kokoda Track.
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00:00Here in the Owen Stanley Ranges on the Kokoda Track, both Prime Ministers of Australia and
00:07Papua New Guinea, Anthony Albanese and James Marape, have spent the night under stars,
00:12camping here at Deneke Campground after hiking for several hours yesterday up to this site
00:18and climbing several hundred metres in elevation.
00:21They were welcomed as they passed through villages along the track with flowers, songs
00:27and stories.
00:28They were joined on this trek by the local Governor of Oro Province, as well as a phalanx
00:32of security, advisers, porters and us in the media too.
00:37They'll continue towards Isarava Village for an Anzac Day dawn service tomorrow where as
00:43many as 400 people will commemorate a pivotal battle on the Kokoda Track in 1942.
00:50Now the purpose for this unprecedented joint trek has been made clear by both leaders.
00:55They want to acknowledge a shared history, to embody the friendship of the two nations
01:00and to promote peace in the region.
01:03At a time when China is looking to increase its influence in the region, the personal
01:08friendship being forged on these muddy tracks between Anthony Albanese and James Marape
01:14helps build a closer relationship between the two countries.