Foreword

The starting point of my work as Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs has always been who we are and what we want - because these are the overriding national interests that our foreign policy projects and protects.

We are one of the world's great and enduring democracies. Our people have an abiding tradition of respect for the dignity, rights and freedoms of every individual, founded upon the rule of law.

Our country is home to people from more than 300 different ancestries and to the oldest continuous culture on the planet, giving us common ground with so many of the world's peoples.

As a pluralist nation, we welcome different races, religions and views; united by respect for each other's humanity and for each other's right to live in peace. We are proudly independent. We want to decide our own future, sure of our security and free of interference.

And we know that requires a region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous - and where each country respects each other's sovereignty.

In 2025, Australians find ourselves in a world of growing challenges, as well as great opportunities.

The green energy transition, the global demand for critical minerals and our location in the fastest growing part of the world all mean we have much to gain.

Yet every day, Australians face confronting signs that assumptions we have relied on for generations are less assured, with international security increasingly fragile.

We live in a world of increasing strategic surprise - ever more uncertain and unpredictable.

Around the world, we see the devastating human toll of conflicts - including in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. We see the stubborn scourges of antisemitism, Islamophobia and violent extremism. Malign actors continue to engage in sabotage and terrorism.

Bullies are threatening to use nuclear weapons. Authoritarianism is spreading. Some countries are shifting alignment. High global inflation continues to put pressure on working people.

Institutions we built are being eroded, and rules we wrote are being challenged.

These factors compound threats to our own region from a changing climate, military build-up without transparency, disruption of trade, the crisis in Myanmar and the risks inherent in great power competition.

Australians can see a scale of global challenges unprecedented since World War Two. But we should be confident that we can meet these challenges with unprecedented application of our national power.

Our national power comes from our people, our economic strength, our military and strategic capabilities, our development assistance and our diplomatic engagement with other countries.

This 2025 Snapshot focuses on a key element of our national power: our foreign policy.

It explains how we can protect our security, stability and prosperity at this time of growing uncertainty: focusing on our region, where our interests are most at stake; investing not only in traditional but also in more diverse relationships; and upholding international rules that protect us all. In my first year as Foreign Minister, I emphasised our commitment by travelling to every Pacific Islands Forum member and all of the countries of ASEAN, other than Myanmar - engagement we continue to build on.

Our foreign policy is as important and active as it has ever been - and by concentrating on these priorities of region, relationships and rules, we continue to promote our values and deliver on our interests.

Penny Wong
Minister for Foreign Affairs

How Australia engages in the world

Australia is an important country - not least as a top 20 international economy and military.

We have influence, but we are not a superpower - so we cannot dictate terms to the world.

We must take the world as it is, and seek to shape it for the better. To do this, we prioritise region, relationships and rules: focusing on the Indo-Pacific, building common ground with other countries, and encouraging the world to operate by agreed rules.

In today's interconnected world, what we do abroad needs to reinforce - and be reinforced by - who we are and what we do at home.

The new concept of National Defence, underpinning the inaugural National Defence Strategy, comprehends that as we seek to maintain peace in our region, our nation's front line is diplomacy. Our diplomacy must be underwritten by our military capability.

By combining all arms of our national power - including economic, strategic, diplomatic, development and military - as well as by working with our partners, we can advance our interests and values, and create a credible deterrent for any potential adversary.

In our region, Australia is progressing Pacific partnerships in unprecedented ways, turbocharging our economic ties with Southeast Asia, and upgrading and diversifying key relationships. In the world, we are defending and upholding global rules, protecting Australian citizens, and promoting Australia's interests in peace, security and trade.

Region

We live in an interconnected world, but what matters most to Australia's future is our own region, the Indo-Pacific.

The Indo-Pacific is where Australia faces our greatest opportunities and biggest risks. It is home to many of the largest growing economies in the world. Yet it has also seen a military build-up unprecedented at any time since World War Two, intense great power competition that risks spiralling into conflict, coercive behaviour, and the impacts of climate change.

Australia's interests are in a region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous - where no country dominates, and all countries have the freedom to decide their own futures, without interference. We want a region where we operate by the same rules, and where we have space to agree and to disagree. That requires all countries to contribute to a regional balance of power.

To achieve these interests, we must invest heavily in our engagement with the countries of our region.

Our success in making ourselves a partner of choice will be decisive in seizing opportunities and navigating uncertainty.

This is why so much of Australia's international effort is focused on building common ground and alignment in a wider range of regional relationships.

We work together both to build reassurance of our peaceful intent, and also to create deterrence against the threat of conflict - through economic development, diplomacy and security cooperation.

Pacific

Australia's closest neighbours are Pacific island countries. Being a partner of choice is fundamental for our stability and security: we want to empower our neighbours to ensure the Pacific region can meet its own security needs.

Fostering that partnership means engaging with respect, guided by the needs of Pacific countries and the Pacific Islands Forum. Our collaboration is focused on boosting economic growth, security and policing, protecting fishing industries, cultural engagement like sport - and addressing the Pacific's existential threat: climate change.

As well as our action to reduce Australia's own emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050, we are supporting the Pacific on climate change by:

• Investing in high quality, climate-ready infrastructure and renewable energy production to enhance economic resilience, improve energy security and help the Pacific meet its climate goals.
• Investing in the Pacific-led, Pacific-owned Pacific Resilience Facility to deliver much needed climate finance directly to communities in the Pacific.
• Rejoining the Green Climate Fund, the world's largest global climate fund, to more effectively advocate for funding to meet Pacific needs.
• Contributing to the efforts to respond to loss and damage for countries impacted by the climate crisis, particularly small island states.

In 2024, Australia stood side-by-side with Pacific leaders to announce a Pacific-led, Australia-backed Pacific Policing Initiative.

This will strengthen collective peace and security throughout the Pacific, with:

• Regional police training Centres of Excellence.
• The Pacific Police Support Group - a pool of trained Pacific police ready to deploy on request to meet Pacific security needs.
• The Policing Development and Coordination Hub in Brisbane - including access to state of the art Australian Federal Police facilities for training and deployment preparation.

The Pacific Policing Initiative is a practical contribution to the Pacific Islands Forum's peace and security vision, complementing other arrangements like Australia's Status of Forces Agreement with Fiji.

With our Pacific partners, we also established the Pacific Response Group to enable more effective joint military support of civilian-led humanitarian and disaster response.

We have expanded and improved Pacific mobility programs and are working with partner governments to ensure the skills gained pay dividends for all.

More than 25,000 short-term and long-term workers from nine Pacific islands and Timor-Leste are currently participating in the expanded Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, supporting Australian businesses by addressing workforce shortages in Australia, enriching rural and remote communities and providing an important economic boost to Pacific economies through remittances and upskilling.

The Pacific Engagement Visa has been established to respond directly to Pacific requests for greater regional mobility, delivering education, skills and economic and development dividends for the region, and linking us more closely together.

The rich heritage of First Nations Australians resonates deeply in the Pacific. Australia's First Nations international engagement, led by the Ambassador for First Nations People, has enabled unique and genuine dialogue on shared regional challenges, including how knowledge, culture and mutual understanding are a force for practical change. It is also opening new doors for First Nations businesses and organisations.

Growing our partnership with Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is Australia's closest neighbour and an enduring partner. Our Bilateral Security Agreement elevates, broadens and modernises our longstanding security relationship. It ensures we consult on security-related developments that matter to us both, and helps both countries to contribute to the region's security.

The Agreement reflects Australia's position as PNG's primary security partner and the fact that our two countries are vital to each other's future.

The 2024 announcement of a Papua New Guinea National Rugby League team is a game-changer for Australia's relationship with PNG and a unifying force - no two countries have a greater passion for rugby league.

Partnering on rugby league is a genuine and powerful way to build lasting ties between our peoples, and ensure long-term development, social and economic benefits for our nearest neighbour.

This new partnership is underpinned by shared strategic trust and will deliver significant economic benefits for both countries through investment in new infrastructure and by boosting PNG and Australia's sports and tourism sectors.

Embracing the Falepili Union

The historic Falepili Union with Tuvalu supports the people of Tuvalu to live and thrive in their home through land reclamation and continued investments in infrastructure, education and health. At the same time, it will provide Tuvaluans the choice to live, study and work in Australia.

This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world, providing a pathway for mobility with dignity as climate impacts worsen. And it provides a mutually beneficial security guarantee, making our region safer and more secure.

Delivering the Nauru-Australia Treaty

The Nauru-Australia Treaty builds on the deep foundations of Australia and Nauru's bilateral relationship, and will help secure Nauru's long-term economic resilience and security.

Through the Treaty, Australia will ensure Nauruans have ongoing access to vital banking services, underpinned by mutual security commitments.

As Nauru's largest economic, security and development partner, Australia will also provide the Nauru Government with fiscal certainty to invest in its future.

Rebuilding Australia's development program in the Indo-Pacific

Our region is under pressure. An effective development program is key to building resilience to global shocks and climate change.

Our International Development Policy - the first in almost a decade - is driving investments in tackling regional challenges like poverty, economic growth, healthcare, infrastructure investment, climate change, food security, disability and gender equality.

We are working to rebuild Australia's development program, helping make Australia a partner of choice for the countries of our region, and helping ensure our security and our economic strength.

Reforming the New Colombo Plan

Over 50,000 Australian students have participated in New Colombo Plan study programs, language training, internships, and research across 40 locations in our region.

Recent reforms to the New Colombo Plan will ensure the program supports Australia's strategic objectives to deepen engagement in our region and lift the capability of our people. These reforms include a greater emphasis on students learning languages and undertaking longer-term study experiences in the Indo-Pacific, and augment our reputation for world-class international education.

Southeast Asia

Nowhere better encapsulates Australia's opportunities and challenges than the region to our north: Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia's combined nominal GDP in 2023 was around $5.7 trillion - larger than the economies of the United Kingdom, France or Canada. It is predicted to be the world's fourth-largest economy by 2040. This is a major economic opportunity for Australia to diversify our trading relationships and investment ties.

It is also home to potential flashpoints, including the South China Sea, and one of the world's most dire humanitarian crises, in Myanmar - which threaten regional peace and stability.

Navigating these dynamics requires deeper engagement, fostering alignment, and building the Asia capability of the Australian population.

This includes increasing people-to-people links with the region, through the ASEAN-Australia Centre and the reformed New Colombo Plan - as well as more trade and investment through Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

For the same reasons, Australia has formally upgraded our diplomatic relationships with Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei and Laos. We have signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement with Indonesia and we continue to deepen our longstanding ties with Malaysia and Singapore, where our cooperation is underpinned by Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships.

We are working to support Timor-Leste's long-term economic growth and advance our shared interest in a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.

In 2024, Prime Minister Albanese hosted leaders of ASEAN and Timor-Leste for the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne to celebrate 50 years since Australia became ASEAN's first formal Dialogue Partner. During the Summit, the Australian Government announced over $500 million in new and expanded initiatives to deepen our economic and cultural ties, further our people-to-people engagement and strengthen our educational and environmental cooperation, reinforcing Australia's deep commitment to Southeast Asia and ASEAN.

Indonesia

Indonesia stands as a major and growing power in our region and beyond, and is one of Australia's closest friends and partners. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-majority country, the world's third largest democracy, and over the next fifteen years, it is projected to become the world's fifth largest economy. Indonesia's success has always been central to Australia's success, which is why Australia was one of the earliest supporters of a sovereign and independent Indonesia. We will continue to deepen our trade and investment, development, security and defence ties, including through our landmark Defence Cooperation Agreement, the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.
 

Contributing to regional maritime security

Australia is supporting the countries of our region to nurture and protect agreed rules, uphold the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), prevent conflict and build strategic trust. We champion ASEAN's central role in upholding the collective peace, security and prosperity of the region.

We are working closely with regional partners to uphold international law in the South China Sea, including through the cooperative maritime activity between Australia, the Philippines, Japan and the United States held in 2024.

At the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in March 2024, the Australian Government committed a further $64 million to enhance Australia's Southeast Asia Maritime Partnerships.

In December 2024, Australia launched the Southeast Asia Maritime Institute in Malaysia, led by the University of Wollongong's Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security.

Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040

The Prime Minister launched Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 in Jakarta in September 2023. As part of that Strategy, initiatives are now being implemented to help more Australian businesses seize the opportunities in one of the world's fastest growing regions. This includes the establishment of the $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility (SEAIFF).

The SEAIFF will provide loans, guarantees, equity and insurance for projects that will boost Australian trade and investment in Southeast Asia, particularly in support of the region's clean energy transition and infrastructure development.

Austrade had its best ever client results in Southeast Asia in 2024, with over $1 billion in commercial outcomes. New Deal Teams and tech Landing Pads have been established across the region to connect Australian investors with opportunities and support Australian startups.

Trade and investment missions to Southeast Asia, involving over 220 Australian businesses, have facilitated more trade and investment opportunities in our region.

Establishing the ASEAN-Australia Centre

Australia has profound advantages as a multicultural society, including vibrant Asian-Australian communities. Our engagement with the world is strengthened by the contributions of these communities, drawing on their insights, skills and perspectives.

This burgeoning opportunity has driven the success of the Centre for Australia-India Relations and the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations, and now the creation of the new ASEAN-Australia Centre. This $33.1 million investment will grow business, education, cultural and community connections between Australia, ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste. The Centre will also connect young entrepreneurs and emerging leaders, laying the groundwork for our shared future.
 

Strengthening the Quad partnership

Australia is working through the Quad with India, Japan and the United States of America - three important Indo-Pacific countries - to promote regional peace, stability and development.

The Quad is strengthening maritime, economic and technology security in the face of increasing needs and threats in our region, while promoting reliable and resilient supply chains.

In 2024, Australia launched a new Quad Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre, to ensure undersea cable networks are reliable and our partners can benefit from the growth of the digital economy.

The Quad has also developed a set of joint principles for protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats, and promoting minimum cyber security practices for governments, to guide their development, use, and procurement of software.

Advancing a sustainable and secure Indian Ocean

As one of the custodians of the Indian Ocean, Australia is building capacity to preserve and protect the maritime domain.

Australia is establishing a Marine and Coastal Resilience Hub under India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. We are hosting workshops to build capacity in the Indian Ocean region on UNCLOS, improve maritime domain awareness and strengthen maritime law enforcement cooperation.

Australia has expanded our diplomatic footprint in the region, opening posts in Bengaluru, Kolkata and Malé. Through the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)'s Blue Carbon Hub in Perth, Australia is also helping IORA member states to protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems across the Indian Ocean.

Relationships

Because Australia is a medium-sized country, building alignment with partners gives us more weight in resisting shared threats - and multiplies our choices in solving shared problems.

In these ways, partnering with others means we have more control even in the face of greater uncertainty.

We partner with other countries directly, in small groups like the Quad, and through organisations like the Pacific Islands Forum, ASEAN, the United Nations and the G20.

Part of our focus is reinforcing our relationships with traditional partners, including with the United Kingdom, the United States of America, New Zealand and Canada. We have strengthened our ties with Europe, including with the European Union, and through the Australia-France Roadmap for Cooperation.

But as the world becomes more uncertain, we need even stronger relationships closer to home.

Australia needs more diversified relationships: more partnerships that are important to our future, especially in our region - as outlined in the preceding pages.

Developing those relationships takes time and effort - including ongoing direct engagement with high-level visits and cooperation on issues of mutual concern, like climate change and economic development.

We are seeing the results of our efforts in the Pacific and Southeast Asia - where our ties with nations such as Fiji and Indonesia are so critical to our national interests. And Australia's relationships with Japan, India and the Republic of Korea have never been closer.
 

United States of America

The United States of America is our closest ally, principal strategic partner and largest two-way investment partner.

The Indo-Pacific would not have enjoyed its long, uninterrupted period of stability and prosperity without the United States and the security it provides, and it remains critical to a favourable balance in our region.

The Australia-United States alliance is central to Australian and regional security, as is the network of US alliances in our region.

At the same time as we have invested in more diverse relationships in the region and the world, we have continued to build our longstanding and bipartisan alliance with the United States.

President Trump's America First agenda envisages a different role for the United States in the world.

Australians should be confident in our ability to come together and navigate these changes in our national interests - and in our capacity to strengthen key elements of our alliance for the future.

We are reinforcing our security and that of the region through AUKUS and force posture initiatives. And we are deepening cooperation - bilaterally, with regional partners like India, Japan and the Philippines, and with institutions - to deliver tangible benefits to the people of both nations and across the Indo-Pacific.

The United States is also Australia's most significant economic partner. Together, we boost each other's prosperity. The Australian and US governments and industry are working hand-in-hand to drive investment, innovation and economic cooperation, including expanding our trading relationship, deepening our defence industrial base and pursuing diverse critical mineral supply chains.
 

China

As a global power and Australia's largest trading partner, China will always be consequential for our future. China's size and weight make it central to global challenges, from climate change to health. Equally, China's assertive approach to its security and international relationships has an impact on the entire global system.

Australia has worked to stabilise ties with China, without compromising on our national interest. This has involved patient diplomacy and restoring ministerial level-dialogue between our two countries, including in education, climate change, economics and trade.

The Australian Prime Minister visited China in 2023, and the Chinese Premier visited Australia in 2024, with both visits taking place for the first time in seven years.

Through direct dialogue, as well as advocacy at the World Trade Organization, Australia has secured China's agreement to lift all trade impediments that it had placed on $20 billion of Australian exports.

Australia and China continue to have different systems and values. Australia is clear about our concerns with China's human rights record or when China's actions run counter to the region's interests in peace and stability - including in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. We seek to address our concerns through dialogue and by upholding rules, while working with our partners to do the same.

Japan

Japan's status as an Indo-Pacific power makes it central to Australia's security and prosperity. As democracies and middle powers, we share perspectives on responding to challenges in our region.

Together, we are modernising our substantial trade, investment, defence and security links. We have agreed a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation and a Reciprocal Access Agreement, enabling closer cooperation in peacetime and in conflict. Australia and Japan are also pooling our resources and capabilities to support joint projects, such as Telstra's acquisition of Digicel Pacific and the East Micronesia Cable.

Our history of investment and scientific research collaboration are helping us both decarbonise our economies and achieve net zero. The new Australia-Japan Critical Minerals Partnership will contribute to building secure and trusted supply chains for these important resources.

AUKUS Security Partnership

AUKUS will lift the submarine industrial bases and undersea capabilities of Australia, the United States and United Kingdom, promoting a stable Indo-Pacific and deterring potential threats to Australia and the region.

AUKUS is about more than submarines - it is also building Australian jobs, industry and capability. AUKUS Pillar II is focused on advanced capability development, including in artificial intelligence, quantum technology and cyber.

Partners including Canada, the Republic of Korea, Japan and New Zealand have expressed interest in cooperating on AUKUS Pillar II.

The Republic of Korea

As a trusted friend and Indo-Pacific democracy, the Republic of Korea is a crucial partner in Australia's efforts to maintain a regional balance of power.

We have a shared interest in developing our economic and defence relationships. Australia has continued to stand with the Republic of Korea in the face of destabilising and dangerous provocations from North Korea, including through sanctions and support for the United Nations Command.

Australia and the Republic of Korea are seizing opportunities presented by changes to the global economy. We have agreed a Green Economy Partnership Arrangement on Climate and Energy to diversify clean energy supply chains and reach net zero. We have also established a bilateral Economic Security Dialogue, strengthening our cooperation and investments in supply chain security, critical minerals and critical technologies.

India

The potential of India's economy, geography and demography for Australia is unmatched. As we face similar strategic circumstances, our alignment on regional priorities continues to grow. That is why Australia and India are enhancing cooperation on defence exercises and maritime domain awareness activities. Our strong bilateral ties are complemented by cooperation in the Quad and trilateral meetings with Indonesia and France.

India is the world's fastest growing economy. That is why Australia has expanded the Australia-India Business Exchange and launched a New Roadmap for economic engagement with India.

Tariff cuts under our free trade agreement with India have boosted Australian exports. The opening of our new Consulate-General in Bengaluru, Australia's fifth diplomatic mission in India, is strengthening our partnerships in India's technology hub.

Launching the Centre for Australia-India Relations

Australia now has a national platform in the Centre for Australia-India Relations, with its headquarters in Parramatta NSW, to serve as a centre of gravity for efforts spanning the India-Australia relationship.

The Centre supports business development, cultural and academic grants, civil society and government to underpin the strong links between India and Australia. It also showcases and engages the nation's diverse and growing Indian-Australian communities, Australia's fastest growing diaspora.

Rules

Australia is better off in a world guided by the rules that are agreed between nations.

After the catastrophe of World War Two, the world came together to build the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, and other associated organisations. Through these organisations, we established frameworks of rules, to help find collective solutions to our toughest problems and resolve our most difficult conflicts.

These rules are the way we level the playing field for nations of all sizes. They are how we ensure that the world is not governed by might or size alone, and enable small and medium countries to have a say. This is how these rules shape the character of the region and world in our interests.

Nations like Australia rely on these rules, to address climate change, to promote human rights, and to relegate nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to history.

We need to work together with other countries to uphold and strengthen existing rules, and also to develop approaches on rules for newer global problems including cyberattacks, interference, disinformation and economic coercion.

Australia supports strong rules and institutions by:

• Deterring and responding to malicious cyber actors, including through attributions, Australia's first ever cyber sanctions, and support to strengthen cyber resilience in the Pacific.
• Respecting the independence of the institutions that uphold international law, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
• Pursuing truth, justice and accountability for the victims of the downing of Flight MH17.
• Championing human rights, gender equality and social inclusion - and holding countries to account for violating international human rights, including through Magnitsky-style sanctions.
• Bolstering the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime.
• Shaping global health reform, to ensure the international community is better equipped to prevent, prepare for, detect and respond rapidly to future public health emergencies.
• Affirming the role of the World Trade Organization in ensuring free and fair trade.
• Seeking election to the UN Security Council for the term 2029-2030.
• Ratifying all ten International Labour Organization Fundamental Conventions, ensuring Australia upholds all fundamental international labour rights and is a fair, safe and secure place to work and do business.

Supporting Ukraine's sovereignty

In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in flagrant violation of the UN Charter. For three years, Ukraine has bravely resisted Russia's illegal and immoral war of aggression. Australia is steadfast in our support for Ukraine.

Australia has provided more than $1.5 billion in assistance to Ukraine since February 2022, and introduced over 1,400 targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against individuals and entities of strategic significance to Russia.

Implementing targeted sanctions

While sanctions are rarely our first choice in sending a strong message, targeted sanctions are one of the key tools for Australia to respond to situations of international concern, including to deter and disrupt breaches of international law, egregious human rights abuses and other threats to our national interest.

Where it is in our national interest to do so, Australia coordinates with international partners to apply sanctions, and is investing $26.4 million in monitoring and enforcement.

Australia has taken its strongest action ever on Iran, with sanctions on hundreds of Iranian-linked individuals and entities, including with links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

We have also imposed counter-terrorism sanctions against persons and entities linked to Hamas and Hizballah, and sanctions and travel bans targeting Israeli extremist settlers for their violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The sanctions regime is now also being used to deter malicious cyber behaviour. In January 2024, we imposed Australia's first cyber sanctions against a Russian individual for his role in the Medibank Private data breach that affected millions of Australians.

And in February 2025, Australia imposed counter-terrorism financing sanctions against an online entity for the first time - the white supremacist and neo-fascist Terrorgram network, to combat antisemitism and disrupt extremists from recruiting and radicalising people online.

Showing up for international organisations

Australia has an abiding interest in participating in the regional and global architecture, assisting nations to preserve rules and norms and navigate turbulent times. We are members of a diverse range of organisations, including the G20, APEC, MIKTA, the OECD, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the Commission on the Status of Women. As a founding member of both the G20 and APEC, Australia is working together to steer our citizens through a challenging global economy. We also prioritise regional architecture, as a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, and as the first Dialogue Partner of ASEAN.
 

Cooperating at the United Nations

Australia is committed to the United Nations, where 193 nations come together, because many of our biggest problems require regional and global solutions.

Multilateral rules and norms impact Australians every day - in ways big and small - ensuring our mail is delivered, planes are in the sky and medicines are safe.

It is at the United Nations where major global economic, development and security challenges are addressed, and where we agree the rules that protect the sovereignty of all countries. Australia has always pursued a world where differences and disputes are settled through institutions, agreed rules and norms, and not only by power and size.

This is why Australia is a candidate for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the term 2029-2030. It is also why Australia seeks reform of the Security Council, to ensure greater permanent and non-permanent representation for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific.

Australia has been active in the UN's peacebuilding agenda since its inception, and in 2025, Australia will use our term on the Peacebuilding Commission to reform conflict prevention architecture.

We are also advocating for safe, accessible technology to be used for the global good, through the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact.
 

Responding to humanitarian crises

Australia has an abiding commitment to helping others in crisis, which keeps our region secure and our people safe.

Australia's new Humanitarian Policy outlines the role Australia will play at a time when need is outstripping the world's capacity to respond, and disregard for international law is increasing.

We are building readiness and preparedness, responding to crises and disasters with support that meets needs and protects the most vulnerable, and reinforces the international humanitarian system.

This includes $880 million to Bangladesh, Myanmar and communities affected by the Rohingya crisis since 2017.

Since 7 October 2023, Australia has committed $94.5 million in humanitarian assistance to support civilians impacted by conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

In conflict zones, we cannot protect civilians unless we also protect the aid workers who provide lifesaving food, water and medicine. But each year, more and more aid workers are killed.

Australia is working with a cross-regional group of countries to galvanise high-level global commitment with a new Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel to better protect aid workers, strengthen compliance with international law and equip aid workers with the information, communications and equipment they need to operate safely in conflict zones.

Playing our part in peacebuilding and security

The number of conflicts and flashpoints has increased dramatically in recent years, with over 300 million people in need of lifesaving assistance, a record number of people forcibly displaced from their homes, and military build-up without transparency.

Australia is committed to playing our part in peacebuilding and conflict prevention. We do this through development assistance, diplomatic efforts and multilateral engagement.

Australia and 140 other countries voted to demand Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine in February 2023 at the UN General Assembly.

In the Middle East, Australia has been part of the international community calling for ceasefire, the release of hostages and protection of civilians. We continue to support regional efforts to achieve long- term peace and stability throughout the region. Australia and the international community have long held that to end the cycle of violence we need a two-state solution: a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel - achieved in accordance with international law.

In our own region, Australia has consistently called for open lines of communication between the great powers. Australia welcomes leader-level and military-level dialogue between the United States and China, as important steps on the path towards stability that the region has called for.

The risk of competition escalating into conflict points to the need for new preventive architecture and conflict prevention measures. Australia will use our term on the UN Peacebuilding Commission in 2025 to work towards this goal.

Supporting free and fair trade

As a trading nation, Australia benefits greatly from a stable and open global trading system that has underpinned security and prosperity for decades - including through the World Trade Organization.

Australia has led in building the two largest regional deals - the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

This is because Australia's national interest lies in being at every table where economic integration in Asia is being discussed.

Australia has secured a new free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates and our agreement with India has entered into force, delivering for Australians.
 

Advocating for human rights and gender equality

Australia deals with the world as it is and seeks to shape it for the better. Our support for human rights and values is central to who we are and to what Australia does in the world.

We appointed an Ambassador for Human Rights to drive our engagement at the Human Rights Council, and appointed an Anti-Slavery Commissioner to strengthen Australia's efforts to end modern slavery.

We appointed an Ambassador for Gender Equality, and are implementing a new International Gender Equality Strategy - as well as a new International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy. We are ensuring Australia's development assistance has targets for gender equality and disability equity and no-one is left behind.

Australia has also joined Germany, Canada and the Netherlands to hold Afghanistan to account under international law for the Taliban's treatment of women and girls.

Reaching the world

Australia’s diplomatic network spans 171 overseas posts and consulates in more than 90 countries around the world. This presence enables us to promote Australia’s interests in peace, security, trade, investment and other areas of cooperation.

Helping Australians in trouble overseas

Australia's efforts in the world keep Australians more secure at home, but as the world becomes more uncertain and unstable, the Australian Government's support for Australians overseas is increasingly important.

There are more than one million Australians overseas at any time. Following disasters and conflicts in recent years, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade assisted the departure of over 3,400 Australians and their families from Lebanon, more than 850 from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, over 680 from Vanuatu, more than 450 from New Caledonia and over 200 from Sudan.

The Australian Government has also brought home Australian citizens Ms Cheng Lei, Professor Sean Turnell, Dr Ken Elliot and many others from their detention overseas.
 

Road ahead

In 2025, the foundations of the modern world that have been the basis of our prosperity and stability will continue to be tested. Assumptions that have guided policy decisions for generations will become less and less reliable in a world of increasing strategic surprise.

We can expect climate change will continue to accelerate, but so too will the transition to a clean energy future, enabling Australia to take its place as a renewable energy superpower.

The pursuit of lasting peace in the Middle East will continue to define the lives of Israelis, Palestinians and the region, with implications for all of us.

As long as the war continues in Ukraine, we will continue to see horrific human suffering - and it will continue to have consequences for our security and for global inflation.

The region's stability will remain vulnerable with the conflict in Myanmar and the humanitarian crisis that it has caused.

And bad actors will continue to undermine global security, whether through foreign interference, terrorism, violent extremism or sabotage.

Yet as the world becomes increasingly unpredictable, new issues and challenges will demand calm and considered engagement with a view to Australia's long-term interests.

We should be confident that we can meet these challenges - and protect our security, stability and prosperity - with unprecedented application of our national power.

Whether the challenges are known to us today or not, Australia approaches them with more resilience - and with more choices in how to respond - because we are doing the hard work of building common ground in more diversified relationships. Australia will continue to show up and foster alignment with emerging partners, at the same time as we continue to strengthen existing partnerships.

In the same way, we will continue to work with traditional and newer partners in upholding the rules that protect our security and prosperity.

And above all, we will continue to sharpen our focus on the Indo-Pacific - where our future lies - so we are best placed to seize the opportunities and confront the challenges most decisive for Australia's future.

Appendix A

Text version of Nominal GDP of Southeast Asian economies, 2022 (estimate) and 2040 (forecast)

The stacked column bar chart shows current and projected nominal GDP for Southeast Asian economies measured in billions (US dollars).

The chart has two columns. Starting from the left, the first column has estimated GDP values in 2022 and the next column has projected GDP values in 2040.

The left bar shows that, cumulatively, all listed Southeast Asian economies (Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Loa PDR, Brunei and Timor-Leste) in 2022 have a GDP of 3.6 trillion (US dollars).

The right bar shows that, cumulatively, the listed Southeast Asian economies are projected to have a GDP of 14 trillion (US dollars).

Each bar is divided into segments representing the GDP of each listed country. Side by side the bars show how each country’s GDP, as well as the total Southeast Asia GDP, is projected to grow from 2022 to 2040. Indonesia maintains its position as the largest economy but otherwise the rankings change dramatically from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and Singapore in equal fourth position, to Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Based on the projected GDP data, the chart shows that Southeast Asian economies will have a 4 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) on average.

Appendix B

World map showing locations of Australian Government overseas network; DFAT state and territory offices; Torres Straight Treaty Liaison Office; Austrade-managed posts providing consular assistance.

DFAT Posts:

State and territory offices:

• Adelaide
• Brisbane
• Canberra
• Darwin
• Hobart
• Melbourne
• Perth
• Sydney

Torres Strait Treaty Liaison Office

Thursday Island.

Austrade-managed posts providing consular assistance:

• Auckland
• Dubai
• Frankfurt
• Houston
• Milan
• Osaka
• San Francisco
• São Paulo
• Toronto