MFA Press Release: Joint Communique of the 6th Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee (SAJMC), 27 July 2009

SINGAPORE-AUSTRALIA JOINT MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE
(SAJMC)

JOINT COMMUNIQUE OF THE SIXTH SAJMC, 27 JULY 2009

1 The Sixth Meeting of the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee (SAJMC) was held in Singapore on 27 July 2009. The meeting was hosted by Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, and attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean and Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang. From Australia, Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith, Minister for Defence Senator John Faulkner, and Minister for Trade Simon Crean attended the meeting.

2 The Meeting provided a timely opportunity to review significant regional and international developments since the Fifth SAJMC Meeting held in Perth, Australia in 2005, and to consider ways to enhance the close bilateral cooperation between Australia and Singapore. In the context of the uncertain global economic climate and evolving regional architecture, the discussions were useful for exploring how the longstanding partnership between the two countries could be drawn upon to respond to the challenges.

3 The Ministers reaffirmed that bilateral relations are excellent. The ties between Singapore and Australia are multi-faceted and wide-ranging, spanning many sectors, notably the economic and defence sectors, and people-to-people ties. The SAJMC, which commenced in 1996 following the establishment of the New Partnership between both countries, has augmented the strong foundation of bilateral ties. The Ministers encouraged officials on both sides to explore new areas of cooperation to bring the strategic partnership to an even higher level.

Bilateral Defence and Security Cooperation

4 The Ministers noted that the bilateral defence relationship had grown deeper and broader in scope, based on a history of close cooperation and shared strategic perspectives. They reaffirmed the importance of continuing professional interactions and exchanges between both defence establishments under the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation signed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in August 2008.

5 The Ministers underlined the importance of cooperation between our armed forces to confront common threats to our security through our joint participation in international security operations, notably the ongoing multinational stabilisation and reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. They noted that these shared endeavours give further impetus to closer professional and training links between our armed forces.

6 The Ministers welcomed the renewal in May 2009 of the Memorandum of Agreement between Australia and Singapore on the use of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area and reaffirmed the mutual benefits of such arrangements. The Ministers also welcomed the ongoing discussions to expand military cooperation, including training, exercises, exchanges and information-sharing, between both armed forces.

7 The Ministers reaffirmed the continuing importance and relevance of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) to regional security.

Bilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation

8 The Ministers recognised that Australia and Singapore share one of the most significant bilateral economic partnerships in the region. They acknowledged the importance of the Australia-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) in promoting closer integration between the two economies. Since the SAFTA came into force in 2003, bilateral trade had more than doubled from S$12 billion in 2003 to S$26 billion in 2008. Singapore's investments in Australia have also risen, with direct investment as of 2007 being S$15.8 billion compared to S$4.65 billion in 2003. Australia's direct investment in Singapore as of 2007 was S$4.2 billion.

9 The Ministers welcomed the substantive conclusion of the Second Ministerial Review of the SAFTA. They noted that the Review had brought the SAFTA up-to-date with the needs of both countries' business communities in today's economic environment, including through updates to the chapters on investment and intellectual property. This befits SAFTA's standing as a high quality agreement and as an example for other Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and is a reflection of strong bilateral ties. The Ministers noted that both economies were already very open to foreign trade and investment, and called on officials to look at continued cooperation and facilitating trade and investment flows under the SAFTA framework.

10 The Ministers also noted that the SAFTA had helped anchor Australia's interests in the region, and catalysed further economic integration between Australia and ASEAN. They welcomed the signing of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) at a Ministerial Meeting on the occasion of the 14th ASEAN Summit in Cha-am, Thailand, in February this year. They noted that the AANZFTA is a comprehensive, high-standard agreement that pushed ASEAN's boundaries for economic integration to a higher ambition level by setting a quality benchmark for ASEAN's future FTAs and could form the basis for the development of the wider regional architecture. The Ministers looked forward to the AANZFTA entering into force, and reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that the processes to allow this to take place would be completed in the coming months.

11 The Ministers reaffirmed both countries' desire to increase bilateral transport cooperation, noting the significant benefits that this would bring to Australia and Singapore. The Ministers also noted the commitment in the SAFTA to work towards an Open Skies Agreement.

Further Areas of Bilateral Cooperation

12 The Ministers noted the good bilateral cooperation and increased interactions in science and technology between Singapore and Australia in recent years. These included the Joint Energy Workshop in Canberra which was co-organised by A*STAR and the Australian Academy of Science in June 2009. Several new initiatives have also been proposed to foster greater cooperation in research. These include the A*STAR-National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership Memorandum of Understanding; the A*STAR Research Attachment Placement Programme with the Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, and Monash University; and the Emerging Research Leaders Exchange Programme between A*STAR and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. The Ministers agreed that these initiatives would deepen and strengthen research in Singapore and Australia through the exchange of students and researchers, and by tapping on both countries' complementary strengths.

13 The Ministers welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries' clean energy industry bodies, the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) and the Clean Energy Council (CEC). This MOU will facilitate cooperation in areas such as accreditation, information-sharing and two-way business missions in relation to sustainable, renewable energy.

14 The Ministers encouraged more people-to-people exchanges between Singapore and Australia. They noted that the launch of the Australian "Prime Minister's Australia Asia Endeavour Awards" would further promote education and professional linkages. They welcomed more education cooperation and student exchanges. The Ministers also agreed that a further round of the Singapore-Australia Young Business Ambassador Programme would create new opportunities for young professionals in both countries to share vocational experiences and exchange information.

15 The Ministers noted the benefits of continued cooperation on social policy and programmes. To this end, they agreed on the importance of renewing the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding to provide a framework for further co-operative activities relating to social policies and programmes, including the exchange of information.

16 The Ministers noted the value of Track Two collaboration between Singapore and Australia, and welcomed the inaugural Singapore Australia Dialogue jointly organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and the Australian Institute of International Affairs in conjunction with the Sixth SAJMC Meeting. The Ministers encouraged more regular contacts between experts and think-tanks in the two countries.
Regional Developments

17 The Ministers exchanged views on a wide range of global and regional issues. They noted that the United States, China, Japan and India all had important roles to play in maintaining security and stability in the region. The Ministers undertook to continue to work closely together to promote regional cooperation, stability and prosperity.

18 The Ministers agreed that it was important that the evolving regional architecture should strengthen peace and stability in the region. Singapore noted Australia's initiative for an Asia Pacific community (APc) and its proposal to hold a conference to discuss the regional architecture, including how the concept of an APc could fit in. In this regard, the Ministers reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN's central role in the regional architecture.

19 The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the ASEAN-Australia Dialogue relationship, and noted that Singapore would take over as country coordinator of the ASEAN-Australia Dialogue from July 2009 to July 2012. The Ministers agreed that both countries should work closely together under the Dialogue framework to further strengthen ASEAN-Australia relations. Noting that the AANZFTA represented a significant milestone in ASEAN-Australia Dialogue relations, they resolved to build upon this success by deepening engagement in other fields of cooperation.

20 The Ministers welcomed Australia's entry into the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) for the Brussels Summit in 2010. The Australian Ministers thanked Singapore for its support in assisting Australia's entry into ASEM.

Regional Security Cooperation

21 The Ministers acknowledged the need for an open and inclusive regional security architecture and noted that the Shangri-La Dialogue, ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), and in the future, ADMM-Plus, are useful and relevant frameworks in this regard.

22 The Ministers agreed that transnational terrorism remained an ever present threat for the region to deal with. They strongly condemned the Jakarta hotel attacks on 17 July 2009 and expressed solidarity against such acts of terrorism. The Ministers recognised that terrorism would remain a constant threat in the region and reiterated the commitment and efforts of both countries in countering terrorism.

23 The Ministers discussed the importance of working together to tackle non-traditional, transnational security challenges, including piracy, health pandemics, natural disasters, transnational crime and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

24 In addition, the Ministers agreed to enhance cooperation on information-sharing, to strengthen border systems and to enhance coordination among law enforcement agencies to address the issues of people smuggling and trafficking in persons. The Ministers welcomed greater regional cooperation in this area through existing regional fora, such as the Bali Process.

Regional Economic Cooperation

25 The Ministers welcomed the successful conclusion of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting from 21-22 July 2009 in Singapore. There had been a substantive and productive discussion on a range of issues. Reflecting the G20 leaders' directions, the Ministers welcomed the recent momentum to conclude the Doha Round and reinforced this by directing officials in Geneva to engage on the specifics to narrow the gap among WTO members. The Ministers agreed that concluding the Doha Round by 2010 would be the most effective way to resist protectionism and strengthen the multilateral trading system. The Ministers affirmed their commitment to work together in all settings to accelerate the end-game negotiations in Agriculture and NAMA, and advance in parallel the Services, Rules, Trade Facilitation and all other remaining issues in the Doha Development Agenda.

26 The Ministers welcomed the agreement reached at the recent meeting of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade to extend until 2010, and beyond if necessary, the commitment made by the APEC Leaders in November 2008 to refrain from raising new barriers to investment and trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing WTO-inconsistent measures in all areas, including those that stimulate exports. The Ministers reaffirmed their determination to reject all forms of protectionism and to commit to take the necessary steps to keep the Australian and Singapore markets open for trade and investment and sustain economic recovery. The Ministers agreed to strengthen the Asia-Pacific region's competitiveness by accelerating economic integration efforts. To position APEC economies for a stronger recovery in the post-crisis world, the Ministers also agreed that APEC should develop an agenda for inclusive growth, focused on broadening access to opportunities.

27 The Ministers agreed that the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) agreement, in which both countries are participants, represents a further avenue to strengthen economic integration and liberalisation in the Asia-Pacific region. The TPP needed to be a high quality, comprehensive and forward looking agreement to maximise its benefit as a building block for further liberalisation in the region. The Ministers agreed that both countries would cooperate closely to advance these objectives.

Conclusion

28 The Ministers agreed that the SAJMC played a very important and useful role in fostering better understanding and more cooperation between Australia and Singapore. The Australian Ministers welcomed their Singapore counterparts to Australia for the Seventh SAJMC Meeting in 2011.