5 May 2023: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs
This week in Australian foreign affairs: tribute to Allan Gyngell AO FAIIA, Albanese travels to UK, 13th Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee, and more.
This column was created in 2020 by the Australian Institute of International Affairs on the advice of Allan Gyngell AO FAIIA, in his capacity as the then-National President of this Institute. Allan took an active interest in the column, working to ensure in its early days that it contained exactly the information policymakers would need, and continuing to provide advice until the end of his presidency earlier this year. In addition to being “the finest mind in Australian foreign policy”, Allan was a generous, kind, and patient mentor, not only to me, but to countless others. I am immensely grateful to have worked with Allan so closely, and for the support and advice I received from him over the past three years. He will be very missed. My thoughts are with his wife, Catherine, and his family, during this difficult time.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travelled to the United Kingdom on 2 May. During his trip, he will meet with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “to discuss AUKUS and our efforts to support an open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region” and “realising the opportunities for business and consumers in Australia and the UK [after the Australia-UK FTA enters into force]”. Albanese will also travel to Barrow-in-Furness “to inspect the shipyard where the first British SSN-AUKUS submarine will be built.”
On 27 April, Albanese met with President of the Republic of Nauru, Russ Kun, in Brisbane, for their first bilateral meeting. The leaders discussed “Australia and Nauru’s shared priorities for regional security, climate resilience and regional connectivity.” Albanese also reaffirmed “Australia’s commitment to Nauru and to the future of the strong and longstanding partnership between the two countries.” He noted that he “look[s] forward to continuing to work together and strengthen the bond between our two nations.”
Deputy Prime and Minister for Defence Minister Richard Marles, Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, and Minister for Trade Don Farrell hosted their Singaporean counterparts on 1 May for the 13thSingapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee Meeting in Canberra. In the joint communiqué with their Singaporean counterparts, the Ministers acknowledged the “close friendship and ambitious partnership between Australia and Singapore, underpinned by shared interests in an open, stable and prosperous region, where sovereignty and international law are respected.” They recalled the Joint Declaration on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) signed in 2015, and welcomed the “significant progress” made under all six of the CSP’s pillars. The Ministers also welcomed “the strong trade and investment partnership” between the two nations, underpinned by the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area. They reaffirmed their commitment to building “an Indo-Pacific region of dialogue and cooperation”, including strengthening cooperation in digital and green economies and energy security. The Ministers also underscored their commitment “to work together in multilateral for a to support the international rules-based order, including by upholding international law and norms and a strong United Nations system.”
On 26 April, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts met with representatives of the Sudanese community in Australia, “to hear their concerns about the crisis in Sudan and discuss the Australian Government’s efforts to facilitate the departure of Australian citizens and their families.” Watts noted that it was “a productive meeting” and thanked those who attended “for their insights and frank assessments of the situation.” In his media release, Watts reaffirmed that the Government “condemns the violence across Sudan that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent people” and called on “all parties to respect the current ceasefire, to cease hostilities and to prevent further needless bloodshed.”
Assistant Minister for Trade Tim Ayres addressed the Australia-Vietnam 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Commemorative Event on 28 April. He emphasised the two nations’ shared commitment “to a stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous region” and noted that “Australia’s relationship with Vietnam is one of our most important, diverse and dynamic in the region.” He referred to the bilateral relationship as being “grounded in mutual respect, social and economic cooperation, deep people-to-people links and, of course, cooperation in education and training.” Ayres also discussed the “flourish[ing]” economic partnership, noting that last financial year, “our two-way goods and services trade reached a record $22.1 billion – almost 40 per cent higher than the previous financial year.” In addition, he reaffirmed Australia and Vietnam’s commitment to become “top ten trading partners and [to] doubl[e] two-way investment under the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy.”
Isabella Keith is a weekly columnist for Australian Outlook. She is also a Research Assistant, Sessional Academic, and Honours student in Law at the Australian National University, with a focus on international law. Isabella attended the AIIA #NextGen study tour to South Korea last year, and was also a delegate to the AIIA’s Australia-Korea-New Zealand and Australia-United States-Japan Policy Forums. She can be found on Twitter here.
This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.
