Australia-Singapore joint press conference

Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister: Well, if I could start by very much welcoming Ministers Chan, Balakrishnan and Tan from Singapore to this 3 + 3 Australia-Singapore ministerial meeting. And it's an honour to be able to host the three of you with Senator Penny Wong and Senator Don Farrell here in Adelaide today. We are enormously grateful for our relationship with Singapore. Over the last three months, as we have seen one of the biggest energy shocks to the world, what has become completely clear is that in the midst of that, the energy partnership between Australia and Singapore has stood tall and firm and has been profoundly important in terms of maintaining fuel supplies here in Australia. And it speaks to the importance of the relationships that we have within our region and maintaining them in a stable and sensible and reasoned way. But it absolutely speaks to the depth of trust between Australia and Singapore and we could not be more grateful to all of you for that.

Today, we have witnessed our respective Trade Ministers sign the Economic Resilience and Essential Supplies Protocol, so the Australia-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which essentially embodies the trust and way of operating which we have experienced between our two countries over the last few months. We also signed the Industrial-Based Resilience Arrangement, which if you like is a defence industry version of the same thing. And that is to have secure and cooperative supply chains between our two countries which are reliable in the most challenging and difficult of moments.

From a defence perspective, we have a unique relationship with Singapore. Singapore has as significant defence footprint on the Australian continent as any country outside of our own. And that happens both in terms of the training of infantry, which will occur through Exercise Wallaby, which occurs every year and that will take place between September and November. It occurs through the presence of the Singapore Air Force and its helicopters at the Oakey Base in Queensland and of course at RAAF Base Pearce in Perth where we just concluded a really important six-month fighter detachment from the Singapore Air Force as well with their F-16s. And all of that speaks to the significance of the relationship. At the end of this year, coming at the end of Exercise Wallaby, will be Exercise Triton, which is our main bilateral infantry exercise between Australia and Singapore. The degree of our technological and science partnership at a defence level between our two countries means that exercise will be the most complex that it has ever been, evidencing the deepening defence relationship between our two countries. And indeed, right now at Exercise Pitch Black, which is being undertaken in Darwin, the Singapore Air Force, I should say, is present at that with F-16s, I think 200 personnel or something in that order are participating in that really important exercise, which again speaks to the closeness of our relationship. We are so grateful for your presence here today. CS and I have had a really important bilateral meeting, but the state of our bilateral relationship has never been better. And in a very challenging world, that is something we deeply appreciate, CS.

Chan Chun Sing, Singapore Minister for Defence: Thank you, Richard. On behalf of the Singapore delegation, first let me thank DPM Richard, Penny and Don for hosting us. As DPM Richard mentioned, this is a very unique relationship between our two countries in terms of the breadth, the depth, and the quality of the relationship, I think I echo what DPM Richard said has never been better. But having said that, we never rest on our laurels. We are constantly in communication, looking for things that we can do to enhance our bilateral ties, both on the bilateral front and also on the multilateral front.

And I just want to emphasise this point that between Singapore and Australia, we share a lot of strategic interests and key to that is that between the two of us, we complement one another in terms of our strategic reach and also our strategic resilience. And you can see that being manifested in many of the things that we do. We help each other to extend our strategic reach. We help each other to make sure that we have that resilience in a much more complex world.

On the military front, besides the exercises that have been mentioned and the many other cooperation projects, I think we are also looking to strengthening the resilience of our defence ecosystems. And what do I mean by that, I think today in today's more complex military operations and security operations it's not just a contest of the equipment that we have the training that we have or even the operational plans that we have. It is also a contest of the defence ecosystems to see how we can be more resilient, how we can outlast the adversary. And today, the Industrial-Based Resilience Arrangement is a step towards that direction whereby we know that we can depend on one another not just in times of peace but also in the toughest of times that we can watch out for one another and ensure that we can have the continuity in our operations very much like what we have achieved over on the economic front. So, I really want to thank Richard, Penny and Don for your partnership for us to get this off the ground. And as I say this won't be the end of what we are going to do and we're constantly looking for new things to strengthen our strategic reach and resilience together.

And I think the last thing I would say is that this ability to complement one another really depends on one word, and that is trust. That kind of, the deep reservoir of trust that exists between Australia and Singapore at all levels, at a personal level, at an institutional level, that is key to how we are able to do things together and constantly look for new opportunities to do better things and to do things better. So, on that note, I really want to thank DPM Richard and your team for this great partnership and we look forward to doing even more with Australia and doing even higher quality stuff with Australia. Thank you.

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Thanks very much. To Defence Minister Chan, to Minister Vivian, to Dr. Tan, I want to begin by welcoming you to Adelaide, my hometown. And we, Don and I particularly, are really happy to have you here. We've sought to bring foreign dignitaries to Adelaide as often as we can, and we are really, really honoured to have you here.

I want to start by actually picking up where the Defence Minister left off, which is on the issue of trust. And it is the case that we live in a world that is much more uncertain, much more challenging, competition intensifying, the old certainties no longer hold. We know that escalation and miscalculation are risks which are rising. And so, in times like these, friends you can trust are so important. Friends you can trust are one of the ways in which countries can assure stability in times which are much more uncertain and much more volatile. And that's why this ministerial meeting is so important. Vivian and I were speaking this morning about this being 30 years since this set of ministerial meetings was commenced between our countries. And that says something about the breadth and length of the partnership. It also says something about what we are doing today. We are part of an important history of partnership and trust, but we are doing even more, we are doing even more. And what you saw today in the Protocol that Don signed, which we were part of negotiating, that is an expression of our faith in each other, an expression of our confidence in each other, an expression of our trust. That in times which are challenging and in particular, we know the events in the Middle East have tested relationships, have tested supply chains. We know we can count on one another, and that's been demonstrated to date. And now we are formalising that in the partnership Protocol that Don has signed. As someone who flies in and out of Adelaide a lot, can I also say, and I don't mean to steal Don's thunder, but how pleased we are at the Singapore Airlines additional capacity. We're really, really pleased about that.

I want to make some final comments on regional leadership. Minister Vivian is one of the longest serving foreign ministers in the world, I think. I think so, but certainly in the region. And that, alongside the important regional leadership role that Singapore plays, has been of great benefit to our country and to stability in the region. I want to acknowledge that, Vivian. Your personal and your country's regional leadership matters greatly. We have, of course, spent a lot of time with each other because we spent last week together at the ASEAN meetings. A reminder of the central role that ASEAN plays in the region in which we live, how important that is to stability, and how important Singapore's contribution to that leadership is. So, thank you.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs: Thank you. Well, thank you, Richard, Penny, and Don, for welcoming my colleagues and team to your hometown. I think all of us when we were going through our notes, we're pleasantly surprised. It's been 30 years in which every one-and-a-half years or so, the defence, the foreign and the trade ministers of Singapore get together, get together to share a variety of ideas, decide which ones to pursue, and then get it done.

Chun Sing has already mentioned the key ingredient of trust, and it's worthwhile remembering that in fact the special relationship between Australia and Singapore for us goes back even before our independence. And how Australian troops also played their part in the defence of Singapore. You were a welcome presence in our country and in the arrangements since post-independence, have continued to be a valued, totally reliable partner. So, the key word there is trust.

The other aspect is strategic perspective. We're not identical in our strategic circumstances. But I think in the way we analyse the world, both the challenges and the opportunities, there is a certain common shared frame of reference. And that makes another big difference. And the third aspect is complementarity. And you see that most particularly in the economic and trade dimension. You mentioned I've been around for a long time. And that reminds me that actually I have been involved with the negotiations both for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 1.0 and subsequently 2.0. So what I will let on is that the Australians are tough negotiators but because of that deep reservoir of trust and goodwill you all always know that at the end of that negotiation you're going to get something worthwhile and valuable and even more important, something which you can bank on. And that's why it's no surprise that today, you know, we've just signed the addendum, additional Protocol to our Free Trade Agreement, which commits us to standing by each other even in times of crisis, that we will look out for each other and protect our collective interests. So, the point is this is a relationship well worth it. It goes beyond its signatures and pieces of paper, but a truly unique relationship which also illustrates Australia's place in our region and your increasing strategic role and weight in our region. So, thank you once again, and I thank not only you but your team of negotiators. As I said, tough, but worthwhile and dependable. Thank you.

Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism: Well, thank you and thank you for all of our ministers coming to join us today. Just looking around the room, I think I'm the person with the longest personal connection with Singapore. Penny talked about the fact that we're now getting record number of flights between Singapore and South Australia, which is just wonderful news for travellers heading in both directions. But back in 1974, I was a student at Adelaide University, just up the road here. Let me finish the story, please. I know you've been... what can I do? But I was a student at Adelaide University, and for the first time, they started direct flights from Australia into Southeast Asia. At the time, most people went to Europe. Me and a mate decided, well, we weren't going to go to Europe. We were going to go somewhere close to home. So, we went from Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur, and we arrived in Kuala Lumpur. And then we hitchhiked because we wanted to see Singapore. We hitchhiked from - you wouldn't do that anymore, certainly wouldn't let your children do that anymore. But we hitchhiked from Kuala Lumpur down to Singapore and we got to the causeway and there was a big poster up and it described how long the hair of Australians could be before they were admitted into Singapore. And hard to believe, but back then, I had hair that went down to my shoulders basically and me and my mate, we had to cut each other's hair at the causeway before we were admitted into Singapore. Very good rules, I think. I fully endorse them these days.

Anyway, fast forward 40 years and I'm the Parliamentary Secretary for Water in Australia and Vivian was the Water Minister. Water is very important to Singapore and he invites me up to Water Week and at the Water Week, the big event is the Singapore, the Lee Kuan Yew Water Awards. And there I was, I got invited to the Water Awards with Vivian, and who should I meet but Lee Kuan Yew? And I told him this story about the haircutting, and we had a good laugh about that. So that was very, very good. But ever since that time, of course we've had a very close relationship with our great friends in Singapore.

That's culminated in today, myself and Minister Tan, signing a Resilience and Supply Chain Agreement. Singapore is our largest source of fuel and of course what has been the most difficult issue to deal with over the last three or four months, it's been guaranteed supply of fuel. And what this agreement does, it strengthens our relationship and ensures that in times of trouble and you know I think we have to accept that now more often than not there's going to be times of trouble, we'll be working together to ensure that both of our economies benefit from our ability to supply energy into each of our markets but also other products so that we can ensure that however difficult things might be at an international level, we're going to be working together to ensure that each of our societies gets guaranteed support from the government.

So, I'm so pleased that we've been able to do that. I know See Leng loves coming to South Australia. He loves South Australian wines. I don't think there's a better supporter of South Australian wines. We'll continue not only if you keep supplying us with that petrol, we'll make sure we can keep supplying you with that wonderful South Australian wine. Thank you.

Dr Tan See Leng, Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry: Thank you. Thank you, Minister Don. And thank you, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Wong, for your hospitality. As my colleagues have really highlighted, I think the key thing is the word trust and over the years our economic partnership is really a key pillar of that broader bilateral relationship. Actually, that trust is important because it allows us to actually set pathfinders, to find new ways, new paradigms, new horizons for us to be able to work closely together. And one of the few new areas of economic cooperation are examples of, for instance the Singapore Australia Green Economy Agreement and then of course last year we also worked and launched with the Singapore Australia Cross-Border Electricity Trade Framework. And of course, tomorrow I'm flying off to Sydney we're going to have an inaugural Ministerial Dialogue on Energy between myself and Minister Chris Bowen. And I look forward to many new areas of working with him on low carbon energy research, energy security, supply chains and so on and so forth.

Today's signing of the Protocol on Economic Resilience and Essential Supplies to the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement is a very significant milestone. It reaffirms our shared commitment to keeping essential goods flowing during times of disruption, while strengthening cooperation on broader issues, broader processes, transparency, as well as it allows us to fast track an early consultation should there be any issues that crop up. Now, at a time like this, heightened geopolitical uncertainty, increasing pressures on global supply chains, this signing of the Protocol reflects that deep reservoir of strategic trust between both our countries and our shared commitment to keeping our trade open, reliable and resilient.

Now, beyond our bilateral relationship, both our countries continue to work closely to strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system. So, we have longstanding partners in the WTO, in APEC, RCEP and the CPTPP. And we are now working towards the timely implementation of the e-commerce agreement through the interim arrangements.

Next year Singapore is going to host ASEAN as the ASEAN chair. We look forward to working closely with Australia to support a region that remains open, connected and outward looking. We hope that Australia would level up and continue to engage with ASEAN because this will be a very significant and important contribution to our region's growth, resilience and prosperity. Now the breadth of the economic cooperation initiatives reflects once again, I cannot emphasise on it more, the depth of trust between Singapore and Australia and our shared ambition to build a stronger, a more resilient and a more progressive and future-ready partnership. So, thank you once again.

Journalist: Good morning your Excellency, some of the Singapore media (inaudible) their questions, the first question is directed at Minister Foreign Affairs, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan – this is the 30th anniversary of the SAJMC, which provides strategic direction for the bilateral relationship and serves as a platform to review cooperation. Given recent geopolitical developments, how has this strategic direction changed?

Foreign Minister Balakrishnan: Let me start with what has not changed. The deep reservoir of trust, goodwill, and strategic alignment has not changed in decades. If you look at how our relationship has evolved, in the early years of our independence, Australia has continuously been part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements. We had Australian troops housed in Singapore in the past. In the early years, we wanted to maintain the trade links between Australia and Singapore. And also in our regional arrangements, we always advocated for Australia's inclusion in the entire regional strategic architecture. It's also no accident, and I think Chun Sing can give more details later, but we have been training. We've had military training in Australia for decades, and on a scale which is not possible with any other country. And it's not just because of geography, but because of the deep, close relationship between our defence establishment and the trust. And I would like to believe that our soldiers have also behaved in a way which has made Singaporeans welcome in Australia. Then you fast forward to CSP 1.0. And again, I was involved in those negotiations. And it allowed us to formalise the economic ties. It's also no accident that you were actually one of our first major free trade agreements. This goes back to, I think, to 2003. So, we've built on that in terms of economy, in terms of defence, in terms of education and other fields. And you fast forward to CSP 2.0, we've included the emerging areas including the digital and the green economy. Fast forward to today, the world that both Australia and Singapore have to survive in, is a more fractured, fractious, uncertain world. And supply chain resilience cannot be taken for granted. So, it is no accident that again you see we've entered into these agreements for economic resilience, supply chain resilience, and even the military dimension to it. The point I am trying to make through this track through history, is that this special relationship grounded on trust and alignment has enabled us to deepen the engagement and to do so in a relevant and timely way to meet the challenges that have arisen. And if you believe, as Penny and I do, that the world of future is going to be more challenging, I think it means doubling down on our relationship becomes all the more vital.

Foreign Minister Wong: Can I just add to that? I agree with everything that Vivian has said. I just make this point: we do live in a much more difficult world. We do live in a world where the circumstances are much more challenging, and so partnerships matter. We have to work much harder to ensure peace, to ensure stability, and to enable prosperity. And what is critical about this relationship is we are partners in that endeavour.

Journalist: Good afternoon, Minister. I'm asking on behalf of Singapore Media. The question is for Minister Tan See Leng. How were essential items selected for the Protocol, and can the list be expanded during future disruptions? And the second part to that question is, how is the agreement with Australia different from the one signed with New Zealand in May?

Trade and Industry Minister Tan: Well, thank you. For the first question itself, as you know this particular, we've been negotiating on this for many, many months. But what has actually happened as a result of the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East. And I think it has actually triggered an urgent momentum into making sure that both our countries continue to be able to function in as near normal as possible. And the essential supplies, two of the most consequential supply chain, supply lines that would be needed to be petroleum oils and natural gas.

Australia is one of the largest suppliers of liquefied natural gas to Singapore. Likewise, our refineries refine a significant amount of petroleum oils, which Australia needs for a lot of its industry to function, particularly in the areas of agriculture and their own manufacturing plants. And as a result of that, this protocol, the elevation into a legally binding document, allows for a resilient, reliable, open, transparent and consultative process for both Australia and Singapore as close trusted partners to rely on one another in times of crisis.

The essential supplies, the list of essential supplies will continue to be refined obviously. And depending on the time, but depending on the months on it, I think it is a refinement process that we will continue to work closely. The difference between this and New Zealand, I think it's really on what constitutes essential supplies, and also at the same time, the nature of the trade, which obviously is not a like-for-like between Singapore and Australia, and between Singapore and New Zealand. So, we are very heartened by this. In any event, I think the signing of this protocol today would serve to tell the world that, indeed, this kind of trusted partnerships that would prevail and that would cause us all to thrive, I think, in the uncertain times ahead.

Trade Minister Farrell: I might just add to that and just confirm that everything that my colleague has said is absolutely correct. The urgency about this particular discussion is of course the troubles in the Middle East and through the Straits and of course Australian farmers, Australian miners, Australian consumers all need to have petrol or diesel or, if you're an airline, airline fuel. Singapore represented 26% of all our fuel, so our largest supplier of fuel. We saw what happened at the outbreak of that war in the Middle East. We needed to do something really quickly and that's what we did.

Minister Wong and I, following the visit of the Prime Minister, went up, sat down with our colleagues here and we nutted out the substance of this agreement. So, what you're seeing today is the result of those negotiations, they are tough negotiators. This idea that we're the tough ones. Let me tell you, these characters are the tough ones. But it is a fair agreement. It's a fair agreement. But what it highlights, I think, is this. Fuel is the issue at the moment, but next time it's going to be something different. It might be supply of poultry, or it could be PPPs. It could be anything. So, what this agreement does is allow us to add to the list and preferably as quickly as we can. So, we've got a mechanism so that we don't have to start the process all over again, that we have a mechanism that enables us to deal with urgent issues.

And I think we are now entering an age of uncertainty. I think we have to accept that it's more likely than not that more problems will exist, not less. Every time you think things are settling down, something else happens. I think we have to work on that basis now, and this agreement provides us with the ability to do that.

Journalist: The industrial-based residency arrangement between Singapore and Australia appears to be more comprehensive than similar arrangements previously signed with other countries. Is that a fair characterisation? If so, how is this IRBA different from other arrangements? Why and how will it contribute to the security of Singapore and Australia as well as the wider region? Thank you.

Minister for Defence Chan: Well, the simple answer to the first question is yes. I think between Singapore and Australia, the depth of the relationship and the breadth of the relationship is quite different from anything that we have with any other country. And that goes to the deep sense of trust that we have. Why this agreement, because as I have mentioned, modern security issues and warfare, it's not just a contest of the training or even your operational plans. It's the ability to be resilient, the ability to sustain your operations from peace to what we call the troubled peace or grey zone operations all the way to war. And this agreement gives us the framework to support each other throughout that continuum.

In peacetime, there will be essential supplies that all of us depend on. We operate common platforms, various common platforms. We have joined research and development across various areas, various domains, and these agreements allow us to closer integrate the kind of supply chain dependencies that we have. So together, we can be more resilient than just doing it on our own.

When it comes to operations, we have operated with the Australian Defence Force across the spectrum of operations throughout the years. Sometimes even in domestic situations where there are situations in Australia whereby we can chip in to help, whether it's a bushfire or drought or floods, we integrate seamlessly with the Australian Defence Force and nobody misses a heartbeat when operating together.

Beyond Australia, whether it's in the region or even as far away as Afghanistan, in the past, we have always operated seamlessly together. And this is not just about the close relationship in terms of our training and deployment, but also how we supported each other behind the scene. And that is actually all the more critical going forward in certain times whereby supply chains can be disrupted or supply chains can be weaponised. And this is where we have each other's back and we can do more together and provide greater resilience to our forces.

Deputy Prime Minister Marles: So, everything that CS is just said then completely agree with. And really the power of trust opens so many doors and it does in respect of the strategic depth which our continent provides for Singapore with training which we've discussed. But logistics and resilience is a critical part of that which this arrangement helps support. But so too does opening the door to greater cooperation between our defence industrial bases and Singapore has fantastic industry, and for us to be able to work more closely together is hugely advantageous from an Australian point of view, but I think for both countries' point of views, and that's why this arrangement is so important.

Journalist: Mr Marles a question for you on an unrelated issue relating to the Labor conference recently in Adelaide, the Israel-Palestine Platform that was produced from that – is it flawed, and should have it have been more explicit about Hamas disarmament?

Deputy Prime Minister Marles: Well, firstly, I'm very comfortable with the platform, as it's been adopted by the conference. The platform makes clear that the only pathway forward is a two-state solution. But the platform also condemns in the strongest possible terms all forms of terrorism, and that includes in respect of Hamas. But the point I really want to make about what we saw on Saturday was just extraordinary, an extraordinary act of social cohesion, which I think stands as an example for our nation. We had Josh Burns, Basem Abdo, a Jewish Australian, a Muslim Australian of Palestinian heritage, standing together, side by side, supporting the words in the platform and making it clear that this is the way in which we as a society can remain coherent, we can have social cohesion. We stand together first and foremost as Australians. And the differing backgrounds that we have, we can, notwithstanding that, celebrate them, acknowledge them, but come together as Australians in a way which moves forward. And I really feel the way in which both Josh and Basem represented themselves, but represented the conference and the Labor Party, is an example of the whole country and it made me feel proud not only to be a member of the Labor Party but to be Australian.

Journalist: Did you voice any reservations about the final wording of the motion?

Deputy Prime Minister Marles: I've made clear that I'm really comfortable with the platform as I've just described but I really feel like the most significant thing that we saw occur on the weekend was Basem Abdo and Josh Burns standing together. Since October 7, what we've seen is social cohesion in this country, and not just this country, around the world actually, but we have seen social cohesion in this country put under strain. What we saw from Basem and Josh stands as an example for the rest of the country.

Journalist: Can we get Is this your response to Angus Taylor saying that the PM should demand an explanation from Trump re free tariffs and tell the President to reverse the decision?

Trade Minister Farrell: Well, yes, he should and he will. I think the Prime Minister has made it very clear that we do not accept the decision of the United States to impose higher tariffs, or in fact, any tariffs on Australia. We have a Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United States that Free Trade Agreement obliges both sides not to apply tariffs to the products that we sell each other. We honour our side of that bargain. We don't impose any tariffs on goods that come in from the United States and haven't applied tariffs, despite what the United States has done. From the Prime Minister down to the Foreign Minister, I'm sure, to the Defence Minister, every opportunity we will get, we will explain to the Americans that what they have done is unjustified, it's unfair, and it needs to be reversed. I'll be in contact shortly with my counterpart, Jamieson Greer. I've had a number of conversations with him about this. They've been difficult conversations. They'll continue to be difficult conversations.

But just as we did with China over the previous three years of the last government, we need to explain to countries that we are opposed to the introduction of tariffs, and those tariffs have to be removed. The world's falling into two categories now. One is those people who are supporting tariffs. One is, well, the other one is, those supporting free and fair trade. Singapore and Australia are in the category of support of free and fair trade.

What's going to be quite important here now, we have a new Free Trade Agreement with the Europeans. It's not just one new free trade agreement. We've currently got about 30 free trade agreements, including with Singapore. This new agreement with the EU almost doubles that to 27 new countries. So, we're, in one fell swoop, almost doubling the number of countries that we have a free trade agreement. Population of 450 million the Europeans, a $31 trillion economy.

I'm calling on Mr Taylor to come out and unequivocally say that the Coalition will support our EU Free Trade Agreement. Absolutely vital. If other countries are going to put bans or impose tariffs, we need to have those tariffs removed in our relationship with the EU and Mr Taylor has to nail his colours to the mast. Is he supporting the EU Free Trade Agreement or is he not?

Journalist: Just for one of the Singaporean Ministers. We've seen Singapore Airlines put on more flights, I think we just spoke about it before. What message does that send to South Australians, the confidence that business in Singapore has in South Australia particularly?

Trade and Industry Minister Tan: I think it's excellent news actually. We didn't plan this, it's by serendipity because Singapore Airlines is a public listed independent entity. I think first it shows, actually it's very difficult to get flights and I fly to Adelaide quite often on my own. It's very difficult to get seats on Singapore Airlines coming into Adelaide and going back. And if you book it, if you try to change it, it's not as easy. So, I think they've seen the need to increase the number of flights because obviously there is a demand. And what it's going to bring to both Singapore and South Australia is that more people-to-people exchanges, more visits. I think it will bring in a lot more investments into South Australia and it will also allow South Australian businesses to use Singapore as a platform to launch into ASEAN, into many of the industrial parks, the special economic zones that we have set up with our neighbouring countries.

Journalist: What do you think is driving that demand?

Trade and Industry Minister Tan: I think it's a combination of tourism. Of course, with that addition, the beautiful South Australian wines. Clare Valley wines. And produce. I think that there is generally a lot of interest in coming to South Australia to look and see the abundant natural resources by investments for business development opportunities. Thank you, everyone.