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15 November 2024: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs

15 Nov 2024
By Dr Adam Bartley

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Albanese in Peru for APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and Brazil for the G20 Leaders’ Summit; Marles hosts Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C Teodoro Jr for the inaugural Australia-Philippines Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Canberra; new Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator announced, and more.

On 12 November, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced he will travel to South America to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Peru and the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brazil. While there, Albanese will work with with international leaders to promote cooperation on shared issues affecting economic stability and growth, and reinforce Australia’s commitment to enhancing trade and investment with the rapidly growing economies of the Asia-Pacific. According to the statement,  Australia is looking for “a more integrated regional economy and the benefits of free and open trade.” With APEC economies comprising over 60 percent of global GDP and accounting for around 75 percent of Australia’s trade in goods and services, the Prime Minister’s advocacy for strengthened partnerships across the Asia-Pacific is a key message. At the G20 Summit, Albanese focused on advancing Australia’s priorities in food security through sustainable agriculture and energy supply, noting Australia’s role as “a leading global supplier committed to supporting secure and resilient food systems and energy for the region and the world.” The G20, representing the world’s major economies with 85 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of international trade, and nearly 80 percent of the world’s population, served as a vital forum for addressing these pressing economic issues

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles announced on 11 November that he will host the Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C Teodoro Jr for the inaugural Australia-Philippines Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Canberra on 12 November. According to the statement, “the Australia-Philippines relationship is longstanding, built on cooperation and mutual trust. Australia and the Philippines support a secure and stable region where sovereignty is respected, international law is adhered to, and nations can make decisions free from coercion.” During the meeting, Marles and Teodoro discussed “opportunities for Australia and the Philippines to deepen defence cooperation, including through military exercises, regular maritime cooperative activities, and multilateral coordination.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong joined Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy on 8 November to launch the Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator. The new initiative will support non-government organisations (NGOs) working on transformative development projects across the region. “The $10 million Accelerator will increase the scale and impact of initiatives that promote gender equality and climate resilience, with a particular focus on the Pacific,” the statement reads. “This initiative provides vital support to strengthen the role of NGOs in blended finance transactions, enabling them to design, pilot and scale innovative projects—as impact managers, technical assistance providers and, where suitable, fund managers.”

On 13 November, Wong joined Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Minister for Small Business Julie Collins to attend the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Peru. According to the statement, Collins “will champion Australia’s priorities of bolstering digital and services trade, promoting a move towards paperless trade, the economic empowerment of women and Indigenous Peoples, and advancing APEC’s work on environmentally sustainable economic development, including in agriculture.” The ministers will also meet with counterparts to progress Australia’s trade and investment agenda and emphasise our commitment to the rules-based multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at its core. Australia shares a free trade agreement with  Peru (PAFTA), as well as a “likeminded approach to trade, growing people-to-people links and strong commercial engagement—particularly in the mining sector.”

Minister for International Development and the Pacific and Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy joined Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt on 12 November to announce a new Palm Scheme for workers via early childhood education. According to the release, “workers from Papua New Guinea will have the opportunity to work and train in the Australian early childhood sector, under a Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme pilot” announced at the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting in Brisbane.The first group of PALM workers to be employed in Australia’s early childhood education and care sector will arrive in the Northern Territory early next year.” A small pilot program involving 15 accredited educators from Papua New Guinea will determine if the initiative should be expanded across the early childhood education and care sector. These educators will work in Katherine and Alice Springs, where there is a shortage of local staff, helping parents to re-enter the workforce and contributing to the local economy. The Australian Government will fund training for participants, enhancing their skills and supporting their home countries’ labor markets. The PALM scheme is well-regarded by Australian employers, participating countries, and workers, with 98% of surveyed Pacific workers recommending it. On average, workers save or remit $1,500 monthly, earning up to 9-10 times their home country wages. Australia is committed to growing the scheme to benefit businesses and partners across the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

Dr Adam Bartley is the managing editor for AIIA’s Australian Outlook and weekly columnist for The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and non-resident fellow at the Elliot School for International Affairs, the George Washington University. Adam also has positions as post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation RMIT University  and as program manager of the AI Trilateral Experts Group. He can be found on Twitter here.

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