Introduction

It is a great pleasure to be here this evening for two reasons.

Firstly, I welcome the opportunity to meet again with my friends at the Australia-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

I continue to be impressed by the Chamber's promotion of commercial ties between Australia and the Middle East.

Second, I am pleased to participate in and support South Australia's International Business Week.

I'm sure none of you need convincing about what our state has to offer the world, from world-class cars to world-class wines.

I wanted to talk this evening about Australia's relationship with the Middle East; to put what all of you do best -building commercial linkages with the region -in its broader context.

Specifically, I wanted to talk about what the Government is doing to engender a deeper economic partnership between Australia and the Middle East…

…to highlight Australia's strategic interests in the region…

…and to underline our commitment to deepen the relationship, by building bridges of understanding between our communities.

Building economic partnerships

The Middle East has been one of Australia's fastest-growing major regional markets in recent years.

We are not new to this market. Australia's trading relationships with the region goes back at least fifty years.

Indeed, in the 1960s, for example, Holdens were being exported to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Lebanon.

So it is particularly pleasing that Australian motor vehicles have returned to the region in such a spectacular fashion;

…and that many of those vehicles are made in South Australia.

As pleasing are the growing links between our business communities.

Joint ventures like the Nasa Multiplex LLC hotel investment in Dubai illustrate clearly what we are trying to achieve.

We don't just want to sell good and services -we want to build genuine economic partnerships.

Education and tourism are two areas that I am particularly keen to see developed.

Ventures like the University of Wollongong's Dubai campus, and the growing number of students from the region attending Australian universities, have economic benefits.

But they also add real depth and durability to our bilateral relationship by building personal links between our societies.

A lot of this is, of course, depends on the people here tonight -after all, the job of business is to do business.

But the Government recognises that it too has a responsibility to ensure that the right framework is in place…

…that there are no obstacles to trade and investment to prevent people like yourselves from grasping commercial opportunities.

This means, first and foremost, getting the economic fundamentals right and the Government has certainly done that.

Stable monetary and prudent fiscal policies, lower barriers to trade and incentives to invest -including tax reform -are at the core of our efforts to ensure Australian business is well-placed to seize the opportunities of the global market-place.

It is no accident that we are equal seventh in this year's Economic Freedom of the World index (up two places), a reflection of our low inflation, sound legal and financial institutions and secure property rights…

…or that The Economist magazine has again tipped Australia to lead the developed world in GDP growth throughout 2003/04.

In the Middle East, we are ensuring that business people can travel as quickly and as freely as possible to and from the region.

Air services agreements with the UAE and Bahrain, mean that it will continue getting easier to move people and goods between Australia and the region.

The Government has introduced new procedures to reduce substantially visa processing times in most cases in response to concerns raised by the AACCI.

We are trialling 'e-Gulf', a system of internet lodgement for visa applicants from Gulf States that will streamline application processes, particularly for those living outside cities where Australia has visa-issuing facilities.

We are expanding our diplomatic network, with a new Embassy opening in Kuwait in the second half of next year.

This decision reflects the excellent state of our bilateral ties and our belief that relations have not yet reached their full potential.

In Iraq, the ARO and Austrade offices in the region, are pursuing opportunities for Australian business.

Australian firms have won contracts in Iraq despite the difficult environment there. Many others are seeking opportunities in oil, finance, education, agriculture and other sectors.

Across the region, we are addressing barriers to investment, such as restrictions on foreign equity in local companies.

We are negotiating investment promotion and protection agreements with several countries and have completed an agreement with Egypt.

Trade liberalisation is vital. So we are engaging Middle East WTO members to support an ambitious Doha Round.

And we have raised with the UAE the idea of a bilateral FTA. This endeavour, while in its early stages, shows the seriousness with which Australia is engaging the region.

Strategic interests

Our recent involvement in the military campaign to remove Saddam's Hussein's brutal regime in Iraq has underlined Australia's strategic interests in the region.

These interests are not entirely new. Australian soldiers fought in the Middle East in World War I and World War II.

In every year since 1948, ADF Personnel have been represented in one or other of the region's peacekeeping forces, whether it is UNTSO in Jerusalem or the MFO in Sinai.

And of course, in 1991, Australia joined coalition forces to expel Iraq from Kuwait.

But our strategic interests also reflect new global realities.

Terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction mean that we can no longer view security in purely geographic terms. We must counter these threats wherever they emerge.

This was central to our involvement in the war on terror in Afghanistan and our effort to ensure Saddam Hussein never again used his weapons of mass destruction.

It continues to be a touchstone for how we view our strategic interests in the Middle East.

Many of our responses to these threats are about working with our allies and friends. Indeed, far from being a "clash of civilisations", the war against terrorism is promoting real cooperation between Muslim and non-Muslim countries.

Over $137 million in terrorist assets since September 11 and around 65 per cent of senior Al-Qaeda members have been captured or killed -an impossible achievement without cooperation from Muslim -including many Arab -countries.

Our experience in Iraq has created opportunities for stronger strategic relationships with the Gulf countries in particular.

We are already seeing a growing number of visits by Gulf defence officials and in professional military exchanges.

And I certainly saw this opportunity reflected in the course of discussions during my own visit to the region in May.

One of the key issues that I discussed during my visit was how the successful campaign to remove the threat of WMD in Iraq has opened up new strategic opportunities in the Middle East.

There is now a chance to rebuild Iraq as an open and responsible country -no longer threatening to its neighbours -as well as to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Last week's horrific events in Jerusalem and Baghdad served to underline that grasping these opportunities will not be easy.

But these events will not change the determination of the United States to pursue peace between Israel and the Palestinians, or to work with Iraqis to build a new, free and prosperous Iraq.

Nor, indeed, will these events change Australia's willingness to play an appropriate role in support of both of these objectives.

Unfortunately, with this more uncertain security environment, comes the need for greater precaution when travelling abroad.

I am aware that some AACCI members are concerned that some travel advisories for the Middle East inhibit travel to the region and, indirectly, trade and investment.

The Government's first priority is the protection of its citizens. This remains the sole purpose of travel advice.

Travel advisories are based on a comparative assessment of conditions here and overseas, and drawn from several sources.

They are reviewed regularly, and, while I wish they were not necessary, they provide an accurate reflection of relative risks.

Bridges of understanding

Finally, the Government is strengthening the links -or bridges, if you like -between our communities.

One of these bridges is the Australian-Arab community, which today numbers around one million people, including Australians born of Arab descent, and dates from 1876.

Organisations like the AACCI, and its connection to the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture for Arab Countries, also play an important role.

And recently we have established another bridge to the region -the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR).

I attended the national launch of the Council last week in Canberra and was greatly impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of the people I spoke with there.

The Council, headed by Brendan Stewart, Chairman of AWB Ltd, aims to enhance Australia's economic, educational, political, cultural and social links with Arab countries.

As you know, current National Chairman of AACCI -Syd Giller -is a member of the CAAR board. Syd's input, along with that from other business members of the Council, will be important to achieving the Council's economic objectives.

The Council has started with prominent visits in both directions.

Notably, in May it sponsored a visit to Baghdad by Dr Daniel Potts, Professor of Middle Eastern archaeology at the University of Sydney, to help with the restoration of the Iraq Museum.

On behalf of the Council, Dr Potts gave the Museum a computer, software, a scanner and digital camera for future record-keeping -the first material support to the museum in the wake of the war.

This is just one plank in the bridges that we are building between the communities of Australia and the Middle East.

Conclusion

It is important in relationships, even successful ones, to take stock on occasion as I have done this evening.

The Government is adding real depth and breadth to Australia's relations with the Middle East.

We are building genuine economic partnerships, engaging seriously on political and strategic issues, and building durable bridges between our communities.

I welcome the vital role the Australia-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry is playing in support of these efforts.

Together I am sure we can take our partnerships in the Middle East into new and even more productive areas.

Thank you.