Americas

Program 1.1

Overview

The department continued to promote and grow Australia’s engagement with the United States in the areas of foreign, defence and security policy, in trade and investment, and in approaches to innovation and development assistance.

The department worked closely with the Department of Defence and US counterparts to conclude the Australia–United States Force Posture Agreement. Australia and the United States cooperated to help the Government and people of Iraq counter the deadly threat from Daesh. In the Indo–Pacific region, we worked closely bilaterally and in regional forums to promote stability and prosperity.

Working closely with Austrade, the department supported the ongoing growth of Australia’s economic relationship with the United States.

The department continued to promote Australia’s relations with Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. The bilateral relationship with Mexico was bolstered through the consolidation of MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, Australia), including through meetings between foreign ministers.

Our economic diplomacy continued to drive relations with Latin America, particularly with the pro-free trade, Asia–Pacific focused Pacific Alliance countries. Bilateral relationships were strengthened through ministerial and official visits, as well as promotion of commercial and economic engagement.

The department’s residual aid program focused on managing existing programs to completion in line with the Government’s decision to discontinue bilateral assistance to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

United States

Australia’s bilateral relationship with the United States is a central part of our international relations and is underpinned by the ANZUS treaty and the Australia–US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), as well as strong cultural and economic links.

Our strategic relationship is close and strengthening and the ANZUS alliance’s adaptability is demonstrated by growing cooperation on the rising global challenges of counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, space and cyber security. In August 2014, the department, with the Department of Defence, organised the annual AUSMIN meeting in Sydney. The Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and their US counterparts discussed shared foreign policy challenges, including conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, foreign fighters, and security in the Indo–Pacific region. They agreed to implement the US force posture initiatives in Australia, involving rotational deployments of US marines and increased rotations of US Air Force aircraft in Northern Australia. A new phase of bilateral defence cooperation began with their signing of the Australia–United States Force Posture Agreement which provides a robust policy, financial and legal framework to facilitate implementation of the initiatives. The agreement entered into force in March 2015.

We facilitated two visits of the Foreign Minister to the United States (July 2014 and January 2015), for high-level consultations with the Administration and Congress and to promote economic and people-to-people links. Ms Bishop delivered speeches on the threats posed by non-state actors, Australian innovation and our economic outlook. With Australian War Memorial Director Brendan Nelson, she opened the Anzac Centenary exhibition in Washington DC, A Centenary of Australian War Art.

Working with Austrade, the department organised visits by the Trade and Investment Minister to Washington and New York (September 2014 and March 2015 respectively), during which Mr Robb promoted Australia’s attractiveness for trade and investment and held consultations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement. Also with Austrade, the department organised Parliamentary Secretary Ciobo’s visits to Houston and Chicago (February 2015 and April 2015 respectively) to promote investment, including in the energy sector.

The department supported visits to the United States by other senior ministers across a range of portfolios. We facilitated ministerial and parliamentary participation in the 2014 Australian–American Leadership Dialogue and Alliance 21 conferences held in Canberra and Washington.

The department worked closely with the United States in the UN Security Council, the G20 and the East Asia Summit. We cooperated in responding to the downing of flight MH17 and search for MH370, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Russia’s behaviour in eastern Ukraine, the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, and the national security risks posed by foreign fighters. We supported President Barack Obama’s visit to Brisbane in November 2015 to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

Visits by the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women and the Ambassador for Women and Girls strengthened cooperation with the United States on gender equality and women’s empowerment. They engaged with members of the Administration and Congress and prominent civil society advocates. They also co-hosted several events to promote women’s leadership and economic empowerment.

We worked closely with the United States on approaches to international development, recognising the crucial role of innovation and the private sector in reducing poverty. Our cooperation includes a portfolio of jointly-implemented activities valued at $250 million.

The department continued its work to protect and enhance Australia’s trading relationship with the United States. We participated in AUSFTA consultations on market access and promoted the value of the FTA in the context of its 10th anniversary in 2015. We assisted companies to use the agreement in their commercial engagement with the United States. We also sought to influence the US trade negotiation agenda, including on the TPP, to achieve improved export opportunities, enhanced US economic engagement in the Indo–Pacific region, and the promotion of non-discriminatory US trade practices.

In the 10 years since AUSFTA’s entry-into-force, two-way trade increased to $60.4 billion in 2014, while two-way investment more than doubled to $1.3 trillion. The United States is Australia’s largest source of foreign investment and destination for Australian investment abroad. It is Australia’s third-largest two-way trading partner in goods and services, after China and Japan.

The department worked to increase our bilateral investment relationship. Speeches and investor roundtables held during ministerial visits promoted Australia as an attractive destination for foreign investment.

In March 2015, the new Austrade-managed consulate-general opened in Houston. The consulate includes a departmental policy officer and will build on the already significant trade and investment relationship, particularly in the priority sectors of resources and energy, agribusiness, advanced manufacturing and technology. It will also foster closer education and research links.

The department helped shape and deliver the G’Day USA program—a high profile annual series of events which brings together Australian and US government and business leaders to promote and grow Australian economic, cultural and strategic outcomes with the United States. The department also supported Austrade’s development of Australia–US Business Week to promote Australia as a world class tourism destination and a valued trade, investment and education partner.

We continued to support the Australian–American Fulbright Commission through our representation on the Fulbright Board and sponsorship of a Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Australia–US Alliance Studies.

Canada

The department continued wide-ranging engagement with Canada, which remained one of Australia’s most important bilateral relationships, reflected in close ties across counter-terrorism, defence, intelligence, the multilateral agenda, and development. In March 2015, Mr Robb led a business delegation, including indigenous representatives, to Canada for the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference. He also represented the interests of the Australian wine industry at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, one of the largest wine festivals in the world. Mr Robb’s visit reinforced that Australia is ‘open for business’. The department also supported an outgoing visit by an Australian parliamentary delegation in December 2014, and an incoming visit by a Canadian parliamentary delegation in February 2015.

Our close and productive development partnership was enhanced with a new Partnership Arrangement on International Development with Canada. This partnership reaffirms our commitment to work together across shared objectives in development and priorities for cooperation including sustainable economic growth, global health issues, gender equality and coordination on global development policy agendas.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Strengthening economic engagement remained a priority in the department’s relations with Latin America, as Australian mining and mining-related services companies continued to increase their activities in the region. In December 2014, the department supported Ms Bishop’s visit to Peru and Mr Robb’s visit to Brazil, Peru and Chile, during which he signed an MOU on mining. The department facilitated a visit by an Australian parliamentary delegation to the Asia–Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Ecuador, in January 2015, and to Peru and Argentina.

The department supported the inaugural visit to Australia by a delegation comprised of representatives of several Latin American parliaments over the period 27 August – 4 September 2014. As part of its program, the delegation participated in the annual Australia–Latin America Business Council (ALABC) Networking Day, held in Canberra on 3 September.

In February 2015, the department supported the Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt’s visit to Colombia and Jamaica to promote Australia’s efforts to avoid an ‘in danger’ listing of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee. (See Great Barrier Reef Taskforce.)

We promoted education as a key theme of collaboration both bilaterally and with the Pacific Alliance, a pro-trade liberalising, Asia–Pacific focused grouping, comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

In conjunction with our embassies in Brazil and Argentina, we supported attendance by the Ambassador for Women and Girls at the annual Global Summit of Women in Brazil in May 2015 and her subsequent visit to Argentina.

In October 2014, the department hosted the first set of trade talks conducted under the Australia–Chile Free Trade Agreement. Through the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) and our embassy in Chile, we shaped and supported the inaugural Australia–Chile Economic Leadership Forum, held in Santiago in December 2014.

The department and COALAR supported the fourth Latin America Down Under (LADU) mining conference, held 20–21 May 2015 in Sydney.

Reflecting deepening engagement with Mexico, the department hosted inaugural Australia–Mexico multilateral consultations in June 2015. Subjects of discussion included international peace and security, human rights, economic and development issues and MIKTA. We supported participation by Australian water experts in a bilateral water seminar organised by the Mexican Government in November 2014. We also arranged a visit to Australia in March 2015 by the CEO of Mexico City’s Agency for the Promotion of Investment and Development, Dr Simon Levy, to promote links in urban renewal.

In collaboration with the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, we were able to reconcile the amount of debt owed by Cuba to Australia, one of the first Paris Club debtors to do so. As a sign of our growing engagement with Central America, Guatemala became the second Central American country—and the 13th Latin American country—to open an embassy in Canberra.

Australian–Caribbean relations remain strong with continued ministerial engagement and increasing institution-to-institution linkages. The department facilitated the February 2015 visit to Australia by a Trinidadian parliamentary delegation.

The department continued to manage residual Australian development programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. These include working with the Inter-American Development Bank to improve financial literacy and business skills, fostering people-to-people links through global programs such as Australia Awards Scholarships and Fellowships and the Australian NGO Cooperation Program; and working with the World Food Programme to assist communities and governments in the region to be better prepared and responsive to natural disasters and crises.

With no new development commitments, the department commissioned an Independent Completion Report of its 2010–2014 programs. The report concluded that Australia has met all financial commitments it had made to both regions and has met almost all of its agreed outputs. It also concluded that, through these programs, Australia has strengthened its reputation as a source of innovation in the resources sector, and as an active and informed advocate for global norms and systems relating to trade, development and investment.

Outlook

The regional and global security and economic landscapes will continue to be challenging. Bilateral cooperation with the United States across the spectrum will remain a high priority. In 2015–16, the department will support ministerial visits to the United States for AUSMIN 2015, G’Day USA and Australia–US Business Week.

The department will continue to encourage two-way investment and pursue Australia’s trade objectives in the United States, including ongoing implementation and promotion of AUSFTA and mutual engagement in concluding the TPP negotiations. Further events to celebrate AUSFTA’s 10th anniversary will be held in Australia in 2015–16.

We will support the fourth Australia–Canada Economic Leadership Dialogue to be held 6–8 July 2015, in Vancouver. The department will continue to support efforts by Australian companies to capitalise on opportunities arising from Mexico’s economic reforms, including in the energy sector. We will also continue to promote education and research links between Australian and Latin American institutions.

Preparations are underway for the promotion of the 2016 Country Focus Year of Australia in Brazil, timed to attract Brazilian and broader regional attention in the lead-up to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. We will work with the Pacific Alliance to implement a collaborative program promoting Australian expertise in education, sustainable mining and competitiveness. We will also take advantage of Peru’s hosting of APEC during 2016 to promote high-level engagement in the region, with the aim of promoting Australia’s economic diplomacy agenda.