The 21 nations that make up the Asia- Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum account for half the world’s trade. They have, however, long suspected that the biggest member, the United States, did not take it seriously.

President Bush did nothing to dispel that impression yesterday when he forgot the name of the event, referred to his Australian hosts as “Austrians”, and engaged in a public spat with the President of South Korea. To make matters worse, the security measures of the Sydney police were breached by a team of comedians, including a man dressed as Osama bin Laden.

Mr Bush flew to Australia via Iraq, and during his keynote speech to businessmen in Sydney he behaved like a man in the throes of jet lag. Many will sympathise with his mispronunciation of the South-East Asian militant organisation Jemaah Islamiyah, and his struggle with the name of the Burmese democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. It was forgivable when he walked the wrong way off the stage and had to be guided by John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister.

But when he referred gratefully to Mr Howard’s forces in Iraq as “Austrian troops”, he had perhaps used up his credit. The worst mistake was made in the third sentence of his speech. “Thank you for being such a fine host for the Opec summit,” he said, confusing the 12-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries with the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum. “Apec summit,” he said quickly in correction. “He [Mr Howard] invited me to Opec next year.” But that wasn’t true either.

Later he engaged in a bizarre exchange with Roh Moo Hyun, the President of South Korea, whose dislike of Mr Bush’s hardline policy towards North Korea is an open secret. After a private meeting in which they discussed the complex negotiations to disarm the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, of his nuclear weapons, the two leaders made statements to the press. “I might be wrong,” President Roh said. “I think I did not hear President Bush mention a declaration to end the Korean War just now. Did you say so, President Bush?”

“It’s up to Kim Jong Il,” came the reply. Mr Roh then said: “If you could be a little bit clearer. . .” “I can’t make it any more clear, Mr President,” said Mr Bush, with visible irritation. “We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will happen when Kim Jong Il verifiably gets rid of his weapons programmes and his weapons.”

The Australian police have made much of the 3,500 police, backed up by 1,500 troops, who have sealed off large parts of the city in the country’s biggest security operation. However, a comedian was waved through checkpoints to within metres of Mr Bush’s hotel. Members of The Chasers’ War on Everything, a top-rated spoof show, were arrested after their convoy of black American SUVs, decked out with Canadian flags, passed scores of heavily armed police and entered the fenced-off security zone in which the 21 world leaders have been housed.

“I’m very angry that this stunt happened,” Andrew Scipione, the New South Wales police commissioner, said. “[They] put security services in a position where they might have had to take an action no one would want. We have snipers deployed around the city . . . they mean business.”

The stunt had been approved by lawyers at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, on the assumption that the interlopers would be stopped at the first checkpoint. Instead, they stopped themselves just before a third checkpoint. Chas Licciardello, the show’s frontman, got out of the car dressed as Osama bin Laden. The comedians were charged with breaching a secure area, for which they could face up to six months in jail.

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