On this occasion of Indonesia’s hosting of the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting, we were able to take time to meet to discuss the key economic issues facing our two nations.
The Australian and Indonesian economies are becoming increasingly connected to both each other and broader Asia-Pacific economies. As our ties grow, so too does it become more important for us to speak often on economic issues including the international economic outlook, our bilateral economic relationship and appropriate policy settings to respond to the challenges we face.
During our discussions, Treasurer Hockey noted his first bilateral economic meeting was the first for the new Coalition Government in Australia, demonstrating the importance of the diplomatic and economic relationship between the two countries.
We discussed international macroeconomic developments, noting that while there are some positive economic signs coming from Japan and the United States of America, we still face difficult and potentially volatile economic conditions globally.
Productive policy dialogue and coordination are essential to ensuring the global economy recovers further towards stronger and more balanced growth.
We noted how pleased we are to see APEC’s increasing focus on infrastructure provision. Infrastructure is critical to not only maintain, but to expand the growth potential of our economies. We are excited by the proposed APEC infrastructure initiatives that have been driven by Indonesia during its host year with Australian assistance, that will be put to APEC Finance Ministers tomorrow. These include the possible establishment of an Experts Advisory Panel on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and PPP centres.
We were also pleased to discuss the close relationship that exists between our Ministries. These strong ties are built on our close cooperation in both international and regional forums such as the G-20 and APEC.
Treasurer Hockey also noted Minister Basri’s long relationship with Australia during his time at university in Canberra and invited the Minister to visit Australia in the near future to continue our discussions.