Well, in my view, we must be an engaged partner, not a passive observer. The question is, how should Australia position itself vis-à-vis this rising Indian Ocean region? When one considers the Indo-Pacific strategic map, the Indian Ocean is plainly one half of that whole. This region's leadership is crucial to the future of our broader Indo-Pacific region and the future of our world. That's why I'm pleased to see Sri Lanka take on the role of IORA Chair from October, with India to follow in two years' time. It was an example of the important role South Asian countries can play in shaping the norms of our region and strengthening our regional architecture. It is notable that the Outlook was developed thanks to India's leadership and agreed during Bangladesh's tenure as Chair. This marked the first time the region – as a region – expressed a common view of an Indo-Pacific built on a rules-based order, with respect for key international rules like freedom of navigation and overflight. Unlike Southeast Asia, where ASEAN centrality is now firmly established and re-affirmed by its external partners – including Australia - South Asia and Indian Ocean countries are in the process of strengthening their regional architecture.įor example, last year I was pleased to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers' meeting in Dhaka, where we reached agreement on an IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. South Asia, alongside East and Southeast Asia, is already an economic centre of gravity.Īnd we need to continue to work together to bolster our institutional cooperation. …many of the countries in this region have young populations for example, Bangladesh, where approximately 45% of the population is under 25. India, for example, has already overtaken China as the world's most populous country… This inevitability is partly demographic: …then by the end of this decade, and in the decades to come, we will see the prominence of economies in South Asia and the Indian Ocean. If in the 1980s we saw the tiger economies of Singapore, Korea and Taiwan, and in the 2000s we saw economic miracle that was China… This is a region that is growing in economic and strategic salience and will only continue to grow in importance in the years ahead.įrom the 2030s onwards, the states of the Indian Ocean littoral, which extends roughly from East Africa, through South Asia, to Indonesia, will become the new drivers of global growth. While our relationship with India is stronger than it has ever been, I want to begin by highlighting our Government's diplomacy with South Asia and the Indian Ocean region as a whole.Ī topic that receives less media attention,but is vital to our interests. Indian-Australians are our second largest overseas-born migrant group, and if you ever needed a clear example of people-to-people links between India and Australia – that was it. I recently joined Prime Ministers Albanese and Modi at Sydney Olympic Park, where they stood before a crowd of thousands. It's a pleasure to address the AIIA's South Asia Conference, at a time when our many relationships with South Asia have been making headlines. Thank you to Alastair Roff, Executive Director of the AIIA Victoria and his team for pulling this event together.Īs our region becomes more contested, organisations like the AIIA increase in importance for Australia's long-term prosperity and security.īy helping Australians to understand and engage with complex challenges in international relations, the AIIA improves the quality of the ideas and debate on how to address these challenges, something I and my colleagues in the Albanese Government are thankful for. Dr Michael Wesley from the University of Melbourne.Andrew Fairley AM, Consul-General from Finland and.Lisa Singh, CEO of the Australia India Institute.Tully Smith, CEO of the Australia-India Chamber of Commerce.Martine Letts, CEO of the Asia Link Group.I also acknowledge any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people here with us today.Īnd I reaffirm the Australian Government's commitment to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full – Voice, Treaty and Truth. I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we stand today, the Wurundjeri people, and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |