Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. How has the Australian government been working to increase Australia’s engagement with international regional organisations?

Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. Since coming to office the government has been working very hard to increase Australia’s engagement across a range of countries in a range of regions. Regrettably, when we came to office we discovered that there were many parts of the globe, many regions, where there had been considerable inattention so far as Australian foreign policy and activity had been concerned. That is why, for example, we have moved very quickly to establish observer status with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, a very important south Asian regional group which includes India and Pakistan. That is why I attended the African Union Summit in January this year—the first Australian foreign minister to do so. That is why before the end of this year we will start our strategic dialogue with the Gulf Co-operation Council—the GCC—across a range of trade, strategic and security matters. That is why last year we established a modern framework for the basis of the relationship between Australia and the European Union with the presentation of the European Union-Australia Partnership Framework.

I am very pleased to advise the House today that Australia has taken additional steps to deepen our engagement with both Europe and Asia. The Asia-Europe Meeting process, or ASEM as it is known, brings together 16 Asian nations in the ASEAN secretariat along with 27 European Union nations and the European Commission. ASEM was inaugurated with the first ASEM leaders summit in Bangkok in March 1996. Australia, some members will recall, applied for membership in 1996 but we were unsuccessful. We applied again at the 1998 leaders summit but were unsuccessful. Regrettably, no further efforts were made for a decade to get Australia into that important regional organisation, deepening and broadening our engagement with both Asia and Europe.

At the ASEM meeting in Beijing in 2008—the first after the government came to office—Australia applied for membership. The government put forward Australia’s name. I am pleased to advise the House that in Hanoi this week Australia’s application to join the Asia-Europe Meeting process was welcomed by ASEM foreign ministers. Once arrangements have been effected to formalise the detail of Australia’s membership, Australia will join ASEM at the next leaders summit, ASEM8, in Brussels next year. Our participation in that process reflects the government’s very strong commitment to deepen and broaden our engagement both in Asia and in Europe. It also reflects the modern basis of our relationship and engagement with Europe, just as it does our strongest possible commitment to our friends and colleagues in Asia.

Membership of the Asia-Europe Meeting process will make our engagement with both regions stronger. This is a very positive and welcome development and it is one, frankly, which has overcome a decade of inattention and inactivity which has not been in our national interest. Despite that lack of activity and interest over a 10-year period our membership of ASEM from next year at the leaders summit in Brussels will enable us to more appropriately and effectively advance our national interest both in Asia and in Europe.