Melbourne Declaration reaffirms ASEAN-Australia partnership for future
Melbourne (VNA) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on March 6 issued the “Melbourne Declaration reaffirming their
commitment to securing peace, stability, prosperity and a sustainable future
for the region.
The declaration was released at the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit marking 50
years since Australia became ASEAN's first Dialogue Partner, which has freshly
concluded in Melbourne.
The leaders committed to working together to address shared
challenges while embracing opportunities that will benefit all who live in our
region.
PM Albanese and the ASEAN leaders set out the next 50 years
of their enduring partnership to promote an open, inclusive and transparent
region with ASEAN at the centre.
They sketched out their shared aspirations for the region's
future, committing to work together to contribute to the maintenance of peace
and stability, as well as enhance cooperation for sustainable development and
prosperity in the region. They identified areas of practical cooperation for
the future, ranging from deepening economic and socio-cultural ties to
strengthening educational and environmental cooperation. These outcomes
reinforce Australia's commitment to Southeast Asia and ASEAN – now, and into
the future.
At a joint press conference with Lao PM Sonexay Siphandone following the
summit, PM Albanese announced the establishment of an ASEAN-Australia Centre in
Canberra, which will be put into operations on July 1, becoming a focal point for
engagement with ASEAN and promote greater Southeast Asia cultural literacy in
Australia.
He also announced the provision of more than 75 new
Aus4ASEAN scholarships, some of which will be co-funded by Australian
universities, and 55 fellowships for emerging leaders from the region, and the
supply of an Energy Cooperation Package under the Aus4ASEAN Futures Initiative
to enhance ASEAN-led regional energy policy and planning, including the implementation
of the ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality. The package will support the ASEAN
Centre for Energy and the establishment of an ASEAN Centre for Climate Change
in Brunei.
Australia will provide English language training for
Timor-Leste to support its path to full ASEAN membership, he said, adding that
the package will enable valuable training to help Timor-Leste engage
effectively in ASEAN.
PM Albanese reiterated Australia's commitment to
deepening two-way trade and investment with ASEAN to drive growth that creates
jobs and realises economic benefits for all people in the region.
The Australian leader revealed a number of
initiatives to implement key recommendations from Invested: Southeast Asia
Economic Strategy to 2040, which was launched last year, including establishing
a 2-billion-AUD (1.3 billion USD) Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility,
extending Australia's Partnerships for Infrastructure initiative, appointing 10
Business Champions to facilitate greater commercial links between Australia and
the economies of ASEAN, establishing new regional 'Landing Pads' in Jakarta and
Ho Chi Minh City to bolster Australian technology exports and support the region's
digital transformation, improving visa access for Southeast Asia, with the
extension of the Business Visitor Visa from three to five years, and the
introduction of the Frequent Traveller stream, providing 10 year visas for
eligible ASEAN member states, and announcing the location of regional hubs for
Investment Deal Teams in Singapore, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City. The first
business mission under the Australia-Southeast Asia Business Exchange to
Singapore and Malaysia in April focusing on green energy transition.
PM Albanese announced the extension of initiatives to
support the clean energy transition and practical maritime cooperation,
including implementing the next phase of the Mekong-Australia Partnership to
deepen Australia's engagement in the Mekong subregion to address shared
challenges, including water security, climate change and transnational crime,
along with 64 million AUD to enhance Australia's Southeast Asia Maritime
Partnerships, and a 10-million-AUD specific Climate and Clean Energy Window as
part of the Southeast Asia Government-to-Government Partnerships Fund announced
in 2023. This will facilitate knowledge sharing and capacity building in
addressing climate change.
Stressing that ASEAN and Australia's economies are deeply
intertwined, the PM underlined that Australia wants to play a
bigger role in Southeast Asia's pursuit of economic opportunity, development,
and growth./.