ASEAN and Australian Foreign Ministers pose for a photo in Jakarta in July 2023. (Photo: VNA)Australia has longstanding connections with the region across the fields ofbusiness, education and tourism, he said, affirming Australia recognises and supports its regional partners’ influence, dynamismand agency, while seeking to listen to and understand the region’s perspectiveson shared challenges and the way to address them together.
The Ambassador said Australia strongly supports ASEAN centrality, and the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings are an opportunity for leaders across theIndo-Pacific to come together under ASEAN’s unmatched convening power.
Touching on standout cooperation achievements between ASEAN and Australia overthe past time, Ambassador Nankervis said since becoming ASEAN’s firstdialogue partner in 1974, the ASEAN – Australia cooperation has continued to growand evolve. In 2021, ASEAN and Australia made the historic decision toestablish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
Under the CSP, Canberra has established the Australia for ASEAN (Aus4ASEAN)programme, with the 204-million-AUD Aus4ASEAN Futures Initiative which supportsprojects that address complicated challenges in the region.
Australia’s 100 for ASEAN scholarships are helping emerging leaders from eachASEAN member state to study at a Masters level in Australia in fields thatadvance the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The Aus4ASEAN DigitalTransformation and Future Skills Initiative is supporting the region’s futureskills needs, and responding to rapid digitalisation.
In2010, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) entered intoforce, and since then it has been the central pillar of Australia's trade andinvestment relationship with ASEAN members, the diplomat said, noting that last month’s historic upgrade ofAANZFTA includes key sustainable development outcomes, including onenvironmental protection, green economy, labour rights and women’s economic empowerment. He said Australia’s 46-million-AUD Regional Trade for Development facility will provide technical assistance andcapacity building to help eligible ASEAN member states realise the benefits of theupgraded AANZFTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement(RCEP).
Next year, ASEAN and Australia will celebrate50 years of Dialogue Partner relations, and the Australian Prime Minister willwelcome ASEAN Leaders to Australia for a Special Summit to Commemorate theAnniversary, he said, adding both sides are looking to the next 50 years ofcooperation and how they can best address shared challenges and grow therelationship further.
Australia also recognises that the region is facingshared challenges on issues such as food security, climate change and buildingthe region’s resilience to future pandemics – all areas where ASEAN and Australiaare cooperating.
However, there are also great opportunities forASEAN at this time too, as the economies of Southeast Asia grow. By 2030, theASEAN economy is predicted to be the fourth largest single market after theEuropean Union, USA and China. That represents a huge opportunity for SoutheastAsia and for Australia.
Ambassador Nankervis also took the occasion to spotlight the closecooperation with Vietnam in the region and through ASEAN, saying it sits at theheart of Australia’s Indo-Pacific engagement.
Vietnam deftly chaired ASEAN in 2020 – a particularly difficult time for theregion and the world. The Hanoi Declaration, negotiated by Vietnam in its 2020Chair year, continues to guide the work of the East Asia Summit.
He said Australia is pleased to have developeda close working relationship with Vietnam within ASEAN and its forums, addingboth sides are supporting outcomes which enhance the security, stability andprosperity of the Indo-Pacific.
In 2021, Australia and Vietnam co-hosted the 2nd ASEAN-AustraliaWomen, Peace and Security Dialogue in Hanoi. They also have a strong record ofcollaboration on maritime security in the ASEAN Regional Forum, with Australiaand Vietnam co-chairing, together with the EU and New Zealand, the 4th ASEAN Regional Forum workshop on implementing the United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international instruments, to addressemerging maritime issues.
The Ambassador said the bilateral relationship continues to go from strength tostrength, which is demonstrated by the strong tempo of high-level exchanges –with Australia’s Prime Minister, Governor-General, Minister for ForeignAffairs, Minister for Trade and Tourism and the Special Envoy for SoutheastAsia all visiting Vietnam in the last five months.
“For both ASEAN and Vietnam, we’re excited aboutwhat our next fifty years of partnership will bring – and we look forward toworking closely with Vietnam and with ASEAN towards a region where ourcountries and peoples can cooperate, trade and thrive”, he said./.
VNA
