As leaders from around Southeast Asia arrive in Sydney to participate in the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit over the weekend, the NSW government has announced a new strategy for growing its ASEAN trade and investment.
The NSW government’s new strategy aims to achieve a 10 per cent annual growth in trade and investment relationship with ASEAN every year over the next five years, with focus on six major areas of infrastructure and smart cities, technology, education, high-quality food, mining services and tourism.
“The growth and transformation of ASEAN is being driven by expanding cities, a growing consumer base, international connections and digital technologies creating great opportunities for our businesses,” said NSW minister for Trade and Industry Niall Blair.
NSW has a long history of engagement with ASEAN countries. The region is NSW’s second largest trading partner, with $19.1 billion worth of goods moving each year between NSW and ASEAN countries.
According to Blair, NSW will explore various new trade and investment arrangements with ASEAN member countries and will appoint a Special Envoy to spearhead relationship building with the region.
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The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit will be the first time Australia has hosted the leaders of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. It will feature two main events: the Business Summit and a Counter-Terrorism Conference.
The Southeast Asia region presents huge opportunities for local Australian businesses. Between 2012 and 2020, the ASEAN middle-class would more than double to 400 million people, while more than 90 million people are expected to move to urban areas in Southeast Asia by 2030.
Australian small-and-medium businesses had an opportunity to participate in the SME conference held in the International Convention Centre in Sydney on Friday, where they shared knowledge and insight with regional business leaders and successful exporters.
The one-day SME Conference focused on market insights and demographic growth in the region, along with emerging technologies and how businesses in the area are “using digital technology to improve business processes” and the opportunity this presents Australian SMEs.