Australian Trade Minister Welcomes Communication On EU Indo-Pacific Strategy

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2021) Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Friday that his country welcomes the joint communication by the European Commission and the EU foreign policy chief on the EU's Indo-Pacific Strategy, calling it "critical to economic prosperity and regional stability."

"Australia and the European Union agree rules-based, free and open trade in the Indo-Pacific is critical to economic prosperity and regional stability. I welcome the new Joint Communication on an EU Indo-Pacific Strategy and look forward to concluding an Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement," Dan Tehan stated on Twitter.

On 19 April 2021, the EU adopted conclusions on its strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

The document represented an attempt of the 27 European countries to find a common ground in the ongoing debate on the Indo-Pacific. The adoption of the strategy signaled the growing strategic importance of the region for the EU.

As a follow-up to the conclusions, the European Commission presented a Joint Communication on the EU's Indo-Pacific Strategy on 16 September 2021. As noted in the statement, the implementation of the EU Indo-Pacific strategy will include a number of actions, in particular completing EU trade negotiations with Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand.