Australia’s 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper offers insights into the Australian Government’s approach to the world in the next decade. Released in November, it provides a framework that will guide the deployment of Australia’s resources; it also focuses on Australia’s interactions with the Pacific Islands and the world, which is in line with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s ‘Australia in the Pacific’ speech given earlier this year in Suva, when she visited as part of the second annual Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
So, what does this mean for the Pacific and is there anything of note from a trade and investment perspective?
Australia’s commitment to working with the Pacific Islands is reflected throughout the white paper, vowing to work with the region to support economic growth and governance, identifying the security, stability and the maintenance of Australia’s status as an important partner and actor in the region.
As the largest economy in the Pacific and a key enabler of opportunity for the region, Australia reinforced its commitment of responding to the challenges of poverty in the Pacific, joining the United Nations member states by committing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developments Goals and the 17 interrelated global goals.
Australia will use its overseas development assistance, including Aid for Trade, to promote its national interest while contributing to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction within the region. This is reflected in Australia’s official development assistance (ODA) budget for the Pacific, allocating AUD$1,097.8 million, of which 14.6% of total ODA is allocated to infrastructure and trade.
The white paper recognises the growth restraints faced by the Pacific region, including remoteness from markets, limited land and resource bases, the dispersal of people over many islands and environmental fragility. For the Pacific to prosper and have economic prospects, economic integration within the region and with Australia and New Zealand is vital.
A key driver of this will be through the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) PLUS, to which Australia, New Zealand and nine Pacific Island countries have signed up, including the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
PACER PLUS will act as the key pillar that lays the ground work for stronger trade and investment, thus increasing business confidence across the region. Complementing this, Australia will look to improve opportunities for growth and jobs, and to strengthen economic resilience in the Pacific by increasing job opportunities for labour mobility, investing in skills, and assisting countries’ leverage by capturing growth potential in sectors such as tourism. As well as supporting the larger economies in the Pacific, the Australian Government has committed to strengthen its cooperation with the smaller island states in the region by focusing on economic growth, security, fisheries, and building more resilient communities.
The Pacific policy for stepping up engagement in the Pacific identifies three priorities:
- Promoting economic cooperation and greater integration within the Pacific, and also with the Australian and New Zealand economies, including through labour mobility.
- Tackling security challenges with a focus on maritime issues.
- Strengthening people-to-people links, skills, and leadership.
Underpinning Australia’s commitment to the region is the strong, continued support of the Pacific Islands Forum, the pre-eminent regional organisation of which Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia is an agency.
Australia acknowledges that challenges facing the Pacific cannot be tackled by one country or organisation alone and that stronger bilateral and regional partnerships are necessary to achieve shared goals. The increased emphasis on the Pacific Islands and specific policies around stepping up engagement in the region clearly shows Australia’s commitment to the region in the next decade.
The policies will play an important role in the economic development of the region. Moving forward, PTI Australia looks forward to playing a significant role in the Pacific region as a key trade facilitation agency.
--------------------
Published December 2017
