ROBB SEEKS GREATER TIES WITH INDIA, SINGAPORE AND CHINA

Special Envoy for Trade Andrew Robb will visit India (3-6 April), Singapore (7-9 April) and China (9-15 April) to advance trade and investment negotiations and opportunities for Australia.

“As our economy transitions in this post mining boom period, there is huge potential to create jobs and grow the economy by expanding our commercial relationships with our nearest neighbours. There is a massive growing middle class right across Asia and now is the time for us to put in place the building blocks to make the most of the opportunities on our doorstep,” Mr Robb said.

India

In India further negotiations will take place on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between Australia and India.

The aim of the agreement is to promote increased trade in goods and services as well as investment flows between the two countries to help support growth, innovation and job creation.

“Work has been steadily taking place behind the scenes on an agreement, and while challenging I am confident we can give negotiations a further push on this visit,” Mr Robb said.

“We remain committed to an agreement with India as it presents enormous opportunity for Australian investors, service providers and exporters to access a population of 1.2 billion people and a rising middle class. A high-quality agreement will not only promote increased trade in goods and services but it will also increase investment flows.”

Singapore

In Singapore work will continue on the Australia-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) negotiations which were initiated in June 2015 by the respective prime ministers.

Mr Robb will meet with the Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs to further negotiate the CSP, including two way trade and investment, defence cooperation and the deepening links between our educational, scientific and research institutions.

“Our ambition is for the relationship between Australia and Singapore to be akin to that of the one we have with New Zealand, where we enjoy a shared strategic perspective and complementary economies,” Mr Robb said.

China

In China Mr Robb will lead part of the second Australia Week in China (AWIC) with a particular focus on promoting Australian businesses from the financial services, agribusiness and premium food and beverage sectors. More than 1,000 Australian businesses will be participating in AWIC.

The mission builds on the historic China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) which came into force in December last year and will feature trade and investment seminars, roundtables, site visits, product showcases and opportunities for Australian businesses to network with Chinese business, industry and government.

“There is a whole range of opportunities for Australian businesses to take advantage of the free trade agreement we have signed. Despite only coming into force late last year there has already been two rounds of tariff cuts meaning there is no better time for Australian businesses to find new customers abroad.”