Thank you for joining us. It has been a privilege to welcome the leaders of Southeast Asia to Melbourne this week, to mark 50 years of formal partnership between Australia and ASEAN. I was very pleased to co-host this historic Summit with Prime Minister Sonexay of Laos. Australia shares a warm bond with Lao PDR and it’s fitting that one of the achievements of this week was the upgrading of Australia’s relationship with Lao PDR to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. I look forward to continuing to work with you, Prime Minister, to support your Chair here, and I thank Lao PDR for its support, as Australia’s ASEAN country coordinator. I also want to thank my counterparts from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam for their contributions and their commitment to this crucial partnership for Australia. And to the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Australia will continue to support Timor-Leste’s pathway to ASEAN membership.
Together, we achieved a great deal of agreement today. All of it built on a shared understanding that the ASEAN-Australia partnership has never been stronger, or more important to the peace, stability and prosperity of our region. ASEAN itself is a powerful force for regional stability. Because, as all of us acknowledge, peace is the essential precondition for prosperity. For our region to flourish and for our people to succeed into the future, we must continue to preserve that peace and security through the rules and rights that uphold the sovereignty of all nations, and the dignity of every individual.
My Government is focused on ensuring that the partnership between Australia and ASEAN can shape the future of our region. We understand this is not just about deepening engagement between governments. It’s about strengthening and diversifying the business and trade and education connections, which have played a central role in the economic transformation of our region. The work that all of us can do together on climate change, maritime cooperation, and the clean energy transition, will make a real difference in the future of our region, and to the lives of our citizens. For all that we have achieved together through half a century now, untapped potential remains. Australia has so much to offer the region – an abundance of energy, minerals and resources, a highly skilled workforce, and a world-class education system. But we can do more, and we can do it better, to lift our two-way trade and investment relationship, and to make it easier for our people to engage with each other. That is why we’re improving access to long validity visas for Southeast Asian travellers, to show that Australia is open for business, tourism, trade. We’re also implementing other key recommendations of our Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. And I do want to thank Mr Nicholas Moore, who addressed the Summit this morning, for the work that he did in developing that strategy. Because while trade, investment and business collaboration between Australia and Southeast Asia is strong, it can be stronger in the future. As a group, the countries of ASEAN are expected to be the world’s fourth largest economy by 2040. But Australia’s foreign direct investment into ASEAN equals only a little over three per cent of where we invest overseas. To be truly engaged, to be a partner and a participant in this growth and success, Australia needs to be invested. And the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy is our blueprint for doing just that. That is why I announced yesterday that Australia is establishing a $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility to catalyse greater Australian investment in Southeast Asia. Through this Facility, our Government is saying to Australian companies that we want them to invest in Southeast Asia for the health of their own businesses, and the broader Australian economy – and here’s how we are going to help. We have also appointed ten Business Champions, implementing another of the Economic Strategy’s key recommendations. These are senior Australian business leaders who will help set the agenda for future growth in the commercial relationships we have with the countries of Southeast Asia. To help Australian tech companies enter new markets in Southeast Asia, I also announced yesterday that we will establish new regional landing pads in Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta. These will help open up important business for Australia’s tech enterprises, as the digital economy in Southeast Asia is projected to be worth up to $1 trillion by 2030. And, to provide a stronger focus for collaboration and people to people links, I’m proud to announce the establishment of a dedicated ASEAN-Australia Centre. The centre will be a focal point for engagement, fostering deeper cultural ties and people-to-people links and lift Southeast Asia literacy here in Australia. And alongside all of this Australia’s investing in scholarships, in climate change and energy collaboration, and infrastructure partnerships, building on the excellent work done in these areas in previous years.
The Vision Statement and the Melbourne Declaration that we issued today speak to our strong consensus and a shared sense of purpose. Together, we have every reason to be optimistic for the future security of our region, for the future prosperity of our economies, for the future success of our citizens, and for the future strength of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the decades ahead. Thank you very much.
SONEXAY SIPHANDONE, PRIME MINISTER OF THE LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: Your Excellency Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, friends – first and foremost in my capacity as the ASEAN country coordinator for ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations, and co-chair of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations, I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to His Excellency Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, for the warm welcome and cordial hospitality extended to the Laos delegations and all ASEAN member states. I also commend the excellent preparation made for this historic ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. This year marks 57 years of ASEAN’s establishment and 50 years of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations. These numbers affirm that Australia is ASEAN oldest and closest friend. Its long standing and most important dialogue partner, engaging with ASEAN throughout its evolution. Since the establishment of dialogue relations in 1974, ASEAN-Australia cooperation has continuously deepened and expanded, encompassing a wide range of areas of cooperation such as political security, economy, socio-cultural cooperation. This partnership has led to the elevation of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations to a comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021. ASEAN greatly appreciates and compliments Australia for its active participation in all ASEAN, as well as for its consistent support of ASEAN’s centrality in the evolving regional architecture, including the ASEAN outlook on the Indo Pacific. ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations over the past 50 years have been meaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial, contributing to the strengthening of the ASEAN community, as well as maintaining and promoting peace and security, stability and development in the region and the world at large. ASEAN has a strong commitment and aspirations to further advance policy and Australia cooperation in the future. And today, the leaders of ASEAN and Australia have gathered here in Melbourne to review the past 50 years of cooperation and set a joint direction for the future. And today’s Special Summit concluded successfully, we celebrated achievements of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations over the past 50 years and the elevation to ASEAN of our dialogue relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is a reaffirmation of our fruitful past relations and future cooperation. During this Special Summit we jointly set the vision for the ASEAN-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership for the next 50 years, we adopted two key outcome documents – namely, the ASEAN-Australia Leaders Vision Statement – partners with peace and prosperity – and the Melbourne Declaration – a Partnership for the Future. These documents outline the areas of cooperation between ASEAN and Australia. I won’t delve into the details, I suggest media take a closer look at the information in these common documents. On this occasion Australia has announced numerous initiatives that are truly appreciated and supported, mentioned earlier by His Excellency, Prime Minister of Australia, such as the initiative to ensure the concrete implementations of the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, including improvements of visa access, facilitating business related travel, and fostering greater trade and investment, increasing development of Australia’s investment in Southeast Asia. Also the announcement of the Medical Australian Partnership as a regular cooperation mechanism, including the expansion of cooperations under the partnership for infrastructure initiative. Also, the increase of 110 scholarships for ASEAN-Australia, including the establishment of the ASEAN-Australia Centre. The Lao PDR has been serving as the country coordinator for ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations for a three-year term, from 2021 to 2024. A period marked by several important events such as the establishment of the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, and also the Lao PDR ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024, and the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations in 2024. The Lao PDR is delighted and honoured to have served as the country coordinator throughout this significant three year period. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciations to all ASEAN member states and Australia for their cooperation and support, which have been instrumental in enabling Lao PDR to fulfil this important role. On a bilateral note, the Lao PDR highly values its engagement and partnership with Australia over the past 72 years, and I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Government and people of Australia for their continued support in the socio-economic development of the Lao PDR, and most notably for their support of the Lao PDR as ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024. Importantly, the Lao PDR is committed to working closely with Australia to further strengthen the Lao PDR-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announced this morning. This Partnership aims to deliver real benefits to our nation, contributing to the enhancement of cooperations between ASEAN and Australia in the future. And in 2024, as the Lao PDR assumes the ASEAN chairmanship and the theme ASEAN enhancing connectivity and resilience, it is also the ‘Visit Laos Year 2024’. I take this opportunity to extend an invitation to all friends from the media and the people of Australia to visit Lao PDR.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Can I conclude with just two things. One is – an event like this doesn’t just happen, and I want to thank the public servants, staff, police and security of the journalists, the staff here of the Convention Centre, cleaners, drivers, caterers, interpreters – this doesn’t just happen, people make it happen, and it’s happened very smoothly and given a great deal of honour to Australia in hosting this event. To the Victorian Government – I thank you and to the people of Melbourne, I thank you as well. The second point I want to make is just for our ASEAN visitors, please travel safely and have a safe journey home. Thank you very much.
