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It is my very great pleasure to be in Brazil and here today in the vast and vibrant city of São Paulo.

I would like to thank FIESP directors Maurice Costin and Carlos Cavalcante for hosting today.

We have with us today a clean energy delegation from the Council of Australia Latin America relations, led by Bernard Wheelahan. Bernard has served for many years with COALAR and has worked tirelessly to enhance the links between Australia and Latin America. COALAR promotes links between Australia and Latin America through projects in business, education, sustainability, tourism and cultural promotion.

Brazil is the fifth leg of a very successful and productive Latin American trip.

I have signed a number of agreements that will strengthen the trading relationship between Australia and Latin America – MoUs on cooperation in mining (in Chile), agriculture (in Mexico) and beef grading (Chile); and an MoU on strengthening trade and investment (in Uruguay).

We also signed a MoU on the Provision of Emergency Funding with Chile and I was pleased to announce that $3 million of Australia's contribution to earthquake and tsunami reconstruction would be devoted to rebuilding child-care centres.

I also had a productive discussion as part of a reconvened Joint Trade and Investment Commission with my Mexican counterpart Minister Gerardo Ruiz.

I have also signed two Air Services Agreements (Mexico and Brazil), which not only have the potential to boost trade between our two countries, but also help forge people-to-people links.

In addition to Australia and Brazil both being sports-crazy nations, we have much in common.

We are the largest countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

We are both fortunate to enjoy mineral resource and agricultural wealth – the envy of many countries.

We have both fared better than most during the global economic crisis, in part because of the quick action taken by our respective governments to stimulate our economies.

Over time our countries have developed into democratic, multicultural countries committed to playing a leading role in our region and the world.

With this strong foundation of common interests the Australian Government wants to do more with Brazil.

We need to look beyond the prism of competing against each other to also work with each other to tackle third markets.

Brazil can take advantage of the complementarities between our two countries and the opportunities created by Australia's place in the Asia Pacific region.

And together we've made a good start.

When Minister for External Affairs Celso Amorim visited Australia in 2008 we agreed on an Enhanced Partnership, as a framework for developing our bilateral engagement.

We are now developing the detail of this important agreement and I am confident that the relationship will go from strength to strength.

Economic success and international trade

Australia and Brazil have long been partners in working towards our shared goal of trade liberalisation.

We've worked together in the Cairns Group – we held a successful meeting earlier in the week in Uruguay – and in the World Trade Organization to try to overcome protectionism.

We're now also working at leaders' level, through the G20.

We have helped prevent a return to large-scale protectionism during the most severe global recession in 75 years. This would have been devastating, not just for Australia and Brazil, but also for the entire global economy.

Australia is the only advanced economy to have avoided a recession last year and the IMF has, just this week, forecast growth for the Australian economy of 3.0 per cent in 2010 and 3.5 per cent in 2011 (compared to growth of 1.3 per cent in 2009).

I attribute the Australian economy's remarkable resilience to three factors.

First, the Government acted swiftly and decisively in response to the GFC with a A$43 billion stimulus package that bolstered business confidence, supported employment and invested in future long-term economic growth. One third of the stimulus went into consumption and two-thirds went into investments in infrastructure, in education, in innovation – the things that drive productivity growth.

Second, the Australian Government undertook a series of painful but necessary structural reforms in the 1980s and early 1990s that led to a more productive and competitive economy in 2010.

Under the Hawke Labor Government, we floated the Australian dollar – the single most important decision that we ever took to make us a more competitive nation. At the same time we unilaterally reduced tariffs. We also introduced wage reform tied to productivity, compulsory superannuation and safety nets. We achieved the highest productivity in our history and led the world.

The twin pillars approach to trade policy is fundamental to our strategy and I continue to urge the importance of structural reform for economic development. In trade policy terms, there is no point opening up markets if you are not competitive.

A third factor is Australia's strong economic links with Asia. Not only as a key supplier of energy and raw materials to the region, but a diversified supplier of goods and services in the region, Australia is well positioned to benefit from Asia's growth.

These three factors - the stimulus package, structural reforms and Asian markets - helped insulate Australia from the economic downturn.

Today, Australia's unemployment and government debt levels are low. Moreover, the IMF expects the Australian economy to grow by 2½ percent in 2010 and 3 percent in 2011.

It is crucial that we continue to push ahead on this.

Brazil and Australia share a commitment to the Doha Round. There are crucial meetings coming up and the Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting, which I attended in Uruguay earlier in the week, was a good start. Concluding the Doha Round would provide much needed insurance against a re-emergence of protectionism in future downturns.

The US-based Peterson Institute has estimated the annual boost to world trade could be as high as US$592 billion, and the boost to world GDP from a Doha outcome could be up to US$282 billion. Doha creates a stimulus without a hit to budgets.

We know that trade is a key factor in generating prosperity.

The OECD estimates that a 10 per cent increase in trade intensity is associated with a 4 per cent rise in per capita income.

I have always said it would be difficult, but I would like nothing better than to be able to deliver what G20 Leaders charged us with doing – to conclude the Round quickly.

Business has an important role to play in pushing for progress.

I urge you to continue to advocate for the benefits that the conclusion of the Round would bring.

We know that Brazil is on a growth path that will see it emerge as one of the world's most significant economies and a global player.

Already the 8th largest economy in the world, by 2050 Brazil is likely to be the fourth largest, leapfrogging countries such as Germany and Japan.

We know that working together can advance the similar interests and goals we have in so many areas.

Business leaders such as you have led the charge in establishing links between our countries.

Now our Governments are ensuring the frameworks are there to encourage deeper and broader collaboration.

Beyond the WTO, Australia is also keen to discuss other opportunities for working together and boosting our trade with Brazil, and indeed more broadly in Latin America.

And we see opportunities for Brazilian companies to use Australia as a platform to gain access to markets in Asia, for example, by taking advantage of agreements such as the new ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.

This week in Punta del Este we took the opportunity to re-convene the CER-Mercosur Dialogue, a grouping of Australia, New Zealand and Mercosur countries.

We discussed strengthening the economic cooperation between our regions and we are working towards an enhanced cooperation agreement.

I had an excellent meeting with Celso Amorim and these discussions included advancing the multilateral and regional opportunities, but also strengthening our bilateral relationship.

Synergies and opportunities for Australia and Brazil

Brazil is already an important partner to Australia.

We have highly successful collaborations in the agriculture, minerals and services sectors.

Companies such as yours have invested nearly A$2 billion, or $3.3 billion real, in Australia and Australian companies have about the same amount invested here in Brazil.

Brazil is Australia's largest export market in South America. We sent A$918 million [1.5 billion real] worth of exports here last year. Our two-way trade was $1.5 billion last year.

Increasingly, we are branching out into the areas of high tech machinery and services, which are playing a part in supporting Brazil's economic expansion.

I've just this morning opened the Brazilian office of Pacific Hydro, a renewable energy company that is working on the development of wind farms in Brazil.

I'll come back to clean energy shortly because I think it's an area where opportunities abound for Australia and Brazil to do more together.

Brazilian companies are also doing well in Australia.

If you hop on a Virgin Blue Airlines plane from Australia's capital Canberra to the nearest big city, Sydney, chances are you'll be sitting in one of Embraer's jets. I visited the Embraer factory yesterday and discussed with them their strategy for cooperation with Australia for expansion in the Asia Pacific region.

Vale, the global company headquartered in Brazil operates several coal businesses in Australia, and is developing a number of mines in Queensland in Australia's northeast.

Brazilians account for some 40 per cent of visitors to Australia from Latin America and we expect this to increase by some 17 per cent a year, over the next few years. More and more Australians are visiting Brazil and with the new Air Services Agreement providing for direct flight between Brazil and Australia, improving air links, traffic in both directions can only grow.

Brazil is the largest source of students who come from Latin America to study in Australia and it is one of our fastest growing markets. In 2009 Australian institutions received more than 17,500 enrolments from Brazilian students.

The Australian Government recently announced 200 new scholarships for Latin America. I'm sure students from Brazil will be excellent contenders for a significant share of these Australia Awards.

All of this is great news.

But the Australian Government sees great potential to work together on new opportunities in areas such as transportation, financial services, education, agribusiness, mining technology and services, water and waste management, tourism and infrastructure.

As I've mentioned, Brazil and Australia share a great love for sport. Brazil's hosting of the Football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later, offers another opportunity for cooperation.

Australian companies are increasingly focused on leveraging the business of sport. We are able to compete with the best in the world in areas such as design and construction, event management, security, sports administration, high performance techniques and management equipment and training.

Austrade's Business Club Australia – a business networking and relationships building initiative for Australian business, in the context of major international sporting events – is well advanced in its work with Australian businesses in the context of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Already more than 20 Australian companies have won about $200 million in contracts for the London games, highlighting Australia's expertise in the area of sporting exports. Australia has also made a major contribution to the Beijing Olympic Games sites with over 50 companies involved in many services, including signature design projects such as the 'Water Cube'.

The BCA is already working to introduce Australian companies to the organisers to the Rio Olympics and we hope this will represent a new era in cooperation in sport between Brazil and Australia.

Our Government is also pursuing a new Latin American strategy that will reinvigorate our relations with this region, and in particular with Brazil, its economic powerhouse.

Our Governments expect to conclude, this year, negotiations on a new Science and Technology Treaty that will establish strong links that will boost collaboration.

As you know the Brazilian Government is placing a strong emphasis on science, technology and innovation, with a US$23 billion [41.2 billion real] investment, focusing on areas such as climate change adaptation, natural resources and bio-fuels.

Clean Energy

Developing clean energy represents a 21st century challenge for all nations. But it represents an enormous opportunity for countries like Australia and Brazil.

This is one of the many areas in which Brazil and Australia can cooperate to take advantage of the complementarities and synergies to enter third markets.

Australia's experience and expertise in doing business in Asia offers Brazil an opportunity to expand and capitalise on the enormous potential of the Asia Pacific region.

Reflecting this growing opportunity and Australia's expertise, the Australian Government has made clean energy a priority.

We have passed laws to establish renewable energy targets and increase our renewable energy by four times over the next decade.

By 2020, 20 per cent of Australia's electricity will come from renewable sources.

This means that the equivalent of all current household electricity in our country will come from clean, renewable energy within just ten years.

Our Clean Energy Initiative represents a $4.5 billion investment in new, low carbon energy technologies ranging across the spectrum of solar, wind, wave, geothermal, and of course, clean coal.

We have also committed to a $14.9 million clean energy trade and investment strategy by Austrade. We want overseas investors to be fully aware of the commercial opportunities associated with Australia's commitment to a clean energy future.

With Brazil deriving around 85 per cent of its electricity production from bio-energy and hydro sources, we know we can learn a lot from Brazil's experience.

We also admire Brazil's commitment to biofuels and its substantial industry.

Brazil is the world's largest exporter of ethanol.

Brazilian scientists have been working for decades on how to use clean energy more efficiently, including in the transport sector.

Our shared interest offers significant opportunities for cooperation in this field and I am delighted that we have the COALAR clean energy delegation here with us today.

We want to grow this area of our relationship with Brazil because it offers great potential not only for boosting trade and investment between us, but also to help address a critical global 21st century challenge.

There's a lot of discussion to take place to see if we're on the same page but it's important we have these conversations.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen.

Our countries have much in common and significant and growing areas of shared interests, including on clean energy.

Business has, in many ways, led the way in forging closer links between our countries.

I applaud this and I urge more Australian and Brazilian companies to look creatively for opportunities for cooperation between our two countries.

The Australian Government is determined to do what we can to build stronger links with Brazil and to broaden and deepen relations between our two countries.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today and I'm happy to take your questions.