Speech

Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile

 Abu Dhabi, 4 March 2000

The Third Australia-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission Meeting

Speech by the Minister for Trade The Hon Mark Vaile MP at the signature of the Communique

Introduction

Thank you (name of MC); good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

 We have just completed the Third Australia/UAE Joint Ministerial Commission meeting

•  I’m very pleased to be here, and to have the honour of co-chairing the meeting
• My delegation and I are pleased we were able to sign such a forward-looking Communique.

This is another positive development in the relationship between Australia and the UAE

•  I’m very excited about the prospects that exist in the UAE
• The Emirates are ideally located and structured to service the many growing markets in this region - Iran to our north, the sub continent to the east, and increasingly important, Africa to our south, as well as the Peninsular markets themselves
• Australia can be a good partner for the UAE.

The Joint Ministerial Commission

The JMC was unique

• we looked forward at what we could do to build our economic relationship rather than focusing on problems and concerns among the parties. 

At the JMC, we reaffirmed our commitment to the development of a strategic partnership between  our two countries, and we agreed to continue to develop the regional advantages to be derived by both sides from strengthening bilateral links.

 We agreed that the continued application of sound macro-economic policies, stronger and more transparent financial systems, structural reform and open markets will prove critical in ensuring continued financial stability and confidence in our respective regions

• this policy approach helped Australia to maintain its economic performance during the very difficult Asian financial crisis of the late nineties.

 We noted that the scope for two-way commercial and cultural exchanges had blossomed, now that flights between us would be increased from seven to twenty-five flights a week by March 2001, plus two flights per week by Gulf Air from Abu Dhabi.

 I look forward to  the new Emirates services into Sydney from late March.

 We agreed to finalise negotiations on the text of an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and undertook to seek each Government's agreement to sign the treaty at a later date.

 I’m pleased that some 40 business people from Australia made the effort to join me on this visit, representing a wide range of interests as diverse as the relationship itself.

•  they did the bulk of the forward-looking work in the JMC committees -  Agribusiness, Services and Investment (such as, education, consultancy, tourism and finance), Trade and Industry and Defence. 

In the future, we all need to:

•  ensure that opportunities identified at the JMC are quickly and fully followed up
•  not wait until the next JMC to develop new sectors for trade, new fields for investment, and new areas for co-operative work
•  encourage further reciprocal investments between Australia and the UAE; and
•  assist Australian and Emirati companies to use each other's countries as a base for trading into the wider regions of Asia, and the Middle East and Central Asia respectively.

Conclusion 

I am very confident about the future of our relationship with the United Arab Emirates.

 ENDS