The Swiss president, Adolf Ogi, continued talks with leading Australian government ministers on Saturday, including the defence minister, John Moore, and the minister for sport, Jackie Kelly.

Ogi, who was also able to witness two Swiss athletes winning medals at the Olympics, told a newsconference on Saturday that he was "very pleased" about the achievements of Brigitte McMahon (Gold) and Magali Messmer (Bronze) in the triathlon. He said that it was "a great day for Swiss sport".

In the political arena he held talks with the Australian defence minister, John Moore. Security issues in the Asia-Pacific region as well as global armaments questions were at the heart of the meeting.

On Friday, he took the opportunity of meeting the prime minister, John Howard, to discuss last year's Saxet Gorge tragedy in which 13 Australians died in a canyoning accident in Switzerland.

Howard was also keen to ask Ogi for advice on immigration policy and repatriation programmes. Australia faces a similar problem to Switzerland in the high number of immigrants.

Ogi will travel to Singapore on Sunday to hold talks on a political level.

swissinfo with agencies

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