Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Indonesia and Vietnam are rapidly digitising and seeking technology solutions aligned with government priorities.   Last week Ms Louise Adams, Australia’s Business Champion for Vietnam, Ms Jennifer Westacott AO, Australia’s Business Champion for Indonesia, and Australia’s Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, Nicholas Moore AO, visited Vietnam and Indonesia to meet with local business leaders and government to discuss two-way trade and investment opportunities.   Australia’s Business Champions and Special Envoy for Southeast Asia also launched Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)’s Landing Pads in Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City.   The Landing Pads will work with technology companies to gain market insights, explore expansion strategies, connect with in-market networks and venture capitals.

Australia values its deep and enduring engagement with the European Union to support Pacific and Southeast Asian partners’ aspirations for a peaceful and prosperous region. DFAT Deputy Secretary Rod Brazier met with the European Union’s Deputy Director-General for International Partnerships, Myriam Ferran, while in Brussels for the EU-Australia Development Dialogue. Together they discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation with Pacific and Southeast Asian regional partners to fulfil their economic and development priorities and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Off-Grid Renewable Energy Partnerships are an Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) initiative which teams the Australian Government up with businesses to deliver sustainable renewable energy solutions within remote and rural communities in the Pacific and Timor-Leste.    Seven new Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnerships were recently announced to power up remote and rural areas with off-grid renewable energy.   The Off-Grid Renewable Energy Partnerships include solar energy for remote school communities, strengthening and empowering women to access clean energy, energy security for healthcare and even establishing renewable-energy powered coffee hubs. The total investment in these projects is now $4.3 million across six countries in the Pacific and Timor-Leste, including $2.8 million by the Australian Government.

India has some of the largest and fastest growing tech ecosystems in the world. Australian businesses benefit from a focus on tech and innovation in our partnership with India. Today I joined a tech and innovation roundtable with businesses, universities and the Victorian Government to explore untapped opportunities, and think about how we can focus and accelerate our effort as part of the new India Economic Roadmap. Thank you to the Business Council of Australia and Telstra for hosting a great discussion.

The Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC) is the Pacific’s largest regional cultural gathering of First Nations Peoples and one of the largest cultural gatherings in the world. Last week the Australian Consulate-General in Honolulu welcomed over 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, performers and cultural practitioners from each State and Territory who are representing Australia at #FestPAC2024. They were joined by Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for First Nations Peoples and Head of Australia’s FestPAC Delegation, Mr Justin Mohamed, and Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, HE the Hon Dr Kevin Rudd. FestPAC 2024 is on until 16 June. Follow events on https://lnkd.in/gypUn3XU on Facebook and https://lnkd.in/gFFKdZ4k on Instagram. Learn more about the festival program: https://lnkd.in/g2Skqwgv Creative Australia

Australia’s candidate for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - Natasha Stott Despoja - has spent her career championing gender equality at home and globally. She was Australia’s youngest woman to enter the Australian Parliament at 26 years old, where she introduced Australia’s first paid maternity leave bill. Natasha Stott Despoja has proven herself a collaborative and constructive member of CEDAW in her first term. If re-elected, she will keep working to promote a Committee that seeks to listen to the voices of all women and girls, to understand their aspirations and the different circumstances they face around the world.

DFAT has provided much-needed humanitarian assistance since the tragic landslide in PNG last week. Dr Betty Koka is Director Public Health Services, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea and has been instrumental in coordinating the relief efforts for landslide-affected communities.

DFAT staff gathered last week for National Reconciliation Week 2024, under the theme ‘Now More Than Ever’. National Reconciliation Week marks two key dates – the successful 1967 Referendum (27 May) and the 1992 High Court Mabo decision (3 June). Staff were joined by Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna woman Brooke Rigney-Lively, a South Australia based artist who completed original art works commissioned by the department. Brooke shared the story and meaning of those works which are on permanent display in DFAT’s RG Casey Building

Australia and the United Arab Emirates held their first full in-person round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership (CEPA) from 20 to 24 May in Dubai. The negotiations achieved solid progress across trade in goods and services, digital trade, investment, First Nations issues, environment, labour, and gender, among other issues. An Australia-UAE CEPA promises to deepen trade and investment opportunities and mark a new phase in our economic relationship with the UAE. We look forward to working with stakeholders as we progress discussions in the coming months. Learn more about the prospective CEPA with the UAE and the stakeholder consultation process here: https://lnkd.in/g6SAhsji.

Australia has helped make history in recognition of First Nations’ traditional knowledge. The Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge was concluded at the World Intellectual Property Organization diplomatic conference in Geneva. Congratulations to Australia’s First Nations representatives who have worked for twenty years to achieve this momentous outcome.