We want to make it easier for interested Australians to access key official statements about the direction of Australian international policy. This Year in Australian Foreign Policy will identify and collate important speeches, Parliamentary statements, press releases, and media interviews given by ministers and opposition spokespeople on foreign, trade, defence, and development assistance policy. 

Was Davos a success? Did the five-day meeting of over 2,500 world leaders in the Swiss Alpine resort achieve any tangible solutions to the myriad of crises that the secretary-general of the United Nations described as a “perfect storm”?

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Wong acknowledges fourth year of Dr Yang Jun’s detention; 50th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; Watts heads to Vienna; and more.

AI is considered the “new electricity” of the next technology revolution and the Albanese Government has launched a host of new initiatives to meet the challenge. 2023 will be a critical test year for the government’s plans.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Albanese and Marape hold 4th PNG-Australia Annual Leaders’ Dialogue in Port Moresby; Ayres travels to Italy and Switzerland to advance trade partnerships; ADF personnel deployed to the UK to help train Ukrainian soldiers; and more.

With Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Washington this week for talks with Biden, Japan’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) is likely to provoke discussion on new boundaries for mini-lateral groups to hedge against the China threat. For Tokyo, the region has become unmistakably more worrying. 

While summer holidays draw to a close in Australia, much of the globe’s north is being overwhelmed by a rising tide of unresolved issues. Political, business, and civil society leaders will attempt to solve them over the course of the next week in Davos, Switzerland.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Albanese’s comments on China at the Woodford Folk Festival and the COVID-19 testing requirements for travellers coming from China.

With the potential to shift the world's commercial and and economic focus, it is about time Australia improved its ties with the African Continent. More ministerial trips are required, but the Labour party is off to a good start. 

This fortnight in Australian foreign affairs: Wong travels to Beijing to meet with Wang Yi, Kevin Rudd appointed to Washington, Japan-Australia 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations, and more.

The year 2022 has been a critical test for democratic nations. While there is some good news in the changes to political leadership and support for Ukraine, the ongoing challenges of climate change and food insecurity demonstrate that much of the battle is still ahead.