Australian Business Group in the Gulf

Address by the Minister for Foreign Affairs The Hon Alexander Downer MP
to the Australian Business Group in the Gulf (ABIG)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 January 1999

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a great pleasure to be here today, on my first visit to the UAE. I would like to thank Alan Bushnell, Chairman of Australian Business in the Gulf Group, and his committee members, in particular ABIG Secretary, Dick Patterson, and his wife, Stella for organising this luncheon.

I am particularly pleased to be helping you celebrate a somewhat belated Australia Day. It used to be said that, for many Australians, the significance of January 26 did not extend beyond a day off work. But I don't think this is true anymore. It seems to me that there is a growing interest, especially among young Australians, in actively celebrating our national day.

Of course this kind of spirit is particularly strong among Australians overseas - I know you are not all here just for the Fosters, the vegemite sandwiches and the lamingtons.

Australia and the Middle East

One of the things that I have emphasised since becoming Foreign Minister is the need for Australia to have global horizons. That in our strong and continuing commitment to our immediate region, we not lose sight of developments, and indeed opportunities, in other parts of the world.

The Middle East is an excellent example of why this is important. It is a region where we have significant and enduring strategic and political interests, not to mention opportunities for expanding trade, cultural and sporting links.

Unfortunately, the Middle East's significance is lost on many Australians, whose awareness of this part of the world is limited to what they bear about it on the news - a suicide bombing in Israel, another stand-off between the UN and Iraq.

But as I'm sure you'll appreciate, and as I found in my travels in the Middle East last year, there is lot more to this complex and diverse region. This part of the world defies simple generalisations.

Enduring Strategic Interests

Last year we sent a sizeable military contingent to the Gulf. Many asked why. We certainly did not do it on a whim. We did not do it, as some have claimed, simply because the United States asked us to. And we certainly did not do it to be popular - indeed we were conscious that it could put at risk some of our trading interests in the region.

We did so because we share with regional states, indeed with the world, an enduring interest in the security and stability of the Gulf and the wider Middle East. A few statistic underline this point.

Five Gulf states produce 26 per cent of the world's oil and possess 63 per cent of the worlds known oil reserves. The Middle East as a whole contains some 87 per cent of the world's oil. 14 per cent of the world's total trade passes though the Suez Canal, and many of the world's airlines overfly and transit the region.

For Australia these figures are not just of passing interest. Twenty percent of our own oil imports come from the Gulf and the figure for our major trading partners in Asia is even higher. Japan, for example, imports 60 per cent of its oil needs from this part of the world.

Almost all of our trade with Europe, and increasingly with Central Asia, passes through this region. One could only imagine the cost to our exporters if that trade was disrupted or diverted by a serious conflict in the region.

The Middle East's volatility has, of course, had tragic consequences for its people, Arab and Israeli. From the loss of life and property, to the massive displacement of peoples it is not something that we can easily ignore.

But if we needed added incentive to take an interest in events here it is because this volatility has global consequences, in particular through the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

Weapons of mass destruction developed here may not directly threaten us in far off Australia, but their existence does weaken international non-proliferation norms. A failure in any one region, from the Middle East to North Asia, impacts on non-proliferation effort in others, including our own.

And with the Sydney Olympics rapidly approaching we need to remind ourselves that distance does not necessarily protect us from acts of terror.

It is therefore in our direct interest to assist in regional and global efforts to resolve conflicts and ensure peace, security and stability in the Middle East. We cannot seek a prominent role, nor can we - nor can any outsider for that matter - dictate solutions to regional problems. But we can play a measured and balanced role nonetheless.

That is why we actively support, including through aid contributions, efforts to achieve a just, secure and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. That is why Australian military contingents have and will continue to play an active role in support of peacekeeping efforts from Golan and the Sinai to the Gulf. And that is why we remain strongly supportive of UN efforts to establish conclusively that Iraq no longer maintains a weapons of mass destruction program.

I must add with regard to Iraq that we are sympathetic to the hardship's being endured by the Iraqi people and actively support the UN's oil for food program. But let there be no mistake that the key to lifting sanctions lies squarely with the Iraqi Government and the fulfilment of its UN Security Council obligations

Australian Trade with the Gulf

In addition to our strategic interests in this region we have of course seen, in recent years, a dramatic growth in our levels of trade. The figures are truly impressive. At the end of the last financial year our total exports to the region were worth AUD$1.8 billion - an increase of over 40 per cent in the past two years.

Few of our markets in this region have grown as spectacularly as the United Arab Emirates. Total exports reached AUD$1.07 billion in 1997-98 - a 60 percent rise over the previous year. The UAE is now the largest market for Australia in the Middle East and ranks as our 22nd largest export market overall, involving major Australian companies from BHP steel to the ANZ Bank.

The UAE and the Gulf region continue to be a strong market for Australian commodities from live sheep and wheat to alumina. But most impressive is the growing diversity of our trade. Indeed in the UAE pretty soon it will be possible to go from your room in a Rydges hotel, take an Australian built Carnry taxi to see a movie at a Greater Union Cinema, followed by coffee in a Dome Cafe.

I see no reason why such expansion cannot continue. The success of last September's Joint Ministerial Commission, chaired in Melbourne by my colleague the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Tim Fisher, and Sheikh Fahim, the UAE Minister for Trade and Commerce, has provided an excellent basis for the further development of our bilateral trade an investment linkages

The strength of the relationship is further underlined by the strong sense I have of the UAE Government's enthusiasm to explore new areas of cooperation.

And might I say that my confidence in the future of the relationship has only been strengthened by my brief visit. You cannot help but be impressed by what you see here. A modem state with an advanced infrastructure and a rapidly diversifying economy has been created in less than three decades. And in that short time the UAE has become the trading epicentre of the region and beyond.

Australian Business in the Gulf

The strength and diversity of our trade is a particular tribute to you, the Australian business community here, which has worked so hard to forge links between Australia and the UAE and other countries of the Gulf. It is your efforts that have underpinned not just the growth of our trade, but also the enhancement of our profile in this part of the world.

There are now over 50 Australian companies with resident representation in the UAE. The expansion of this organisation, ABIG, from an original membership of just 12 to 200 in just three short years is an indicator of how fast our ties are growing.

One can never underestimate the importance of building personal linkages, particularly in the Middle East. Getting to know one another around a coffee table is just as important as doing the work around the conference table. The joint venture Nasa-Multiplex LLC, which is building the world's ninth tallest building here as part of the Emirates Towers Project, is a good example of this - it began with the common interest of its Australian and UAE partners in thoroughbred horses.

Bilateral Ties

Our ties should not, of course, be limited to trade Relationships built on a broad range of interests are ultimately the most enduring. We are doing just that with the UAE working together in a number of different areas from military exchanges to cooperation in multilateral forums such as the WTO and the FAO.

One aspect of the relationship has assumed particular prominence - sporting ties - from taekwando championships and camel racing to rugby sevens. The attendance of Emiratis at the Melbourne Spring Racing carnival has become as regular as the participation of Australian cricketers at the Sharjah tournament. These common sporting interests even extend to Australian Rules, with Emirates Airlines having signed a three year sponsorship deal with the Collingwood Football club -I'm still trying to find out if it was one of my officials who gave them such poor investment advice since the Adelaide Crows would have clearly been a better bet.

Establishment of an Australian Embassy in the UAE

In recognition of the strategic importance of the Gulf for us, and the rapid expansion of our trade bilateral links with the region, the Government took the decision last year to open an Embassy in the UAE.

We have, for several years now, had a limited diplomatic and trade presence in the UAE- and I would like to pay tribute to Gerard Lanzerone (Austrade's EGM for the region) and his staff for their efforts in promoting Australian exports into this part of the world. But a resident Ambassador - complementing the UAE's Embassy in Canberra - will boost all facets of our bilateral relationship. It will also dramatically improve our coverage in this vital region of the world.

I would like to take the opportunity of my visit here today to announce the appointment of Mr John Hines, who is in fact accompanying me on this trip, as the new Australian Ambassador to the UAE.

The Embassy is also here to help Australian businesses. And I know that our new Ambassador will be working with you, ABIG, to expand our trade in the UAE and beyond.

I am confident that together we can build on the good work that has already been done, to expand and deepen our relationship with the region. I congratulate you on your efforts, and look forward to seeing an even more vibrant Australian business presence when I am next in the region.

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