European Union - Australia Partnership Framework

OBJECTIVE III : ENHANCE BILATERAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION AND COORDINATION BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE EU IN RELATION TO THE ASIA AND PACIFIC REGIONS

RATIONALE

Australia and the EU agree to foster regional integration and support sustainable development in the Asia and Pacific regions through closer coordination and consultation. In so doing, Australia and the EU agree to work with partners to improve governance, meet the challenges of climate change and sustainable management of resources, increase investment in economic infrastructure, achieve better outcomes in health and education, support Public Sector Reform and Security Sector Reform, and advance development outcomes with a particular emphasis on meeting Millennium Development Goals. Both Australia and the EU seek to advance the objectives of the Port Moresby Declaration and the EU Strategy for the Pacific and the EU South-East Asia Strategy and the Guidelines on the EU's Foreign and Security Policy in East Asia through effective and close cooperation together and with regional partners. Both Australia and the EU will continue to promote inter-faith and inter- civilisation dialogue.

LONG/MEDIUM TERM OBJECTIVES

• Promote regional security and stability, inter alia via support to good governance and nation-building in the region.
• Support sustainable development of the Asia and Pacific regions and reducing their vulnerability to natural disasters, fossil fuel dependence and climate change.
• Enhance aid effectiveness through development of common aid implementation modalities and division of labour as agreed in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action.
• Work cooperatively, with members of the Six Party Talks process, towards the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
• Coordinate with respect to approaches to the provision of humanitarian and development assistance to the DPRK ( North Korea ).
• Support China 's emergence as a successful and responsible member of the international community.
• Exchange information on human rights issues in Asia and in the Pacific .
• Enhance measures to encourage responsible aid practices in the Asia Pacific in line with OECD DAC protocols, including among emerging donors.
• Welcome improved cross-Strait relations and urge the peaceful resolution of this issue through negotiation and cooperation.

AREAS OF ON-GOING COLLABORATION

• Strengthen regional institutional architecture including by:
• supporting regional institutions by assisting them in establishing effective decision-making processes that are compatible with good governance;
• carrying out dialogue on widening and deepening regional integration.
• Regular and comprehensive dialogue on developments in the Asia and Pacific regions, including through the COASI Dialogue and in multilateral fora such as the ASEAN Regional Forum PMC, the Pacific Island Forum post forum dialogue(PIF) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
• Enhance bilateral coordination in promoting good governance and development and combating corruption in the Asia and Pacific regions by:
• coordinating approaches to advocate for, and support, the long term stabilisation and reconciliation process in Fiji ;
• further developing long-term Australia-EU collaboration in development and governance in East Timor/Timor Leste , including rural development, health and the World Bank-led public finance management capacity building project and through improving the competence and capacity of central and provincial administration and non-state actors;
• promoting harmonisation, including with multilaterals, in the rural development and provincial governance sectors in Solomon Islands including through harmonising efforts aimed at improving the competence and capacity of central and provincial administration and non-state actors;
• in Lao PDR , engaging, along with other donors, to support the Public Financial Management Strengthening Program and deepen cooperation in education, trade, investment reform activities and public financial management;
• supporting the implementation of Papua New Guinea 's national development plans, including its medium and long-term development strategies .
• Cooperate to promote compatibility between cross border processes and transit systems in the South East Asian region, including on through the Asian Development Bank-led implementation of the Cross Border Transport Agreement and associated transit system in the Greater Mekong Subregion and the ASEAN-led implementation of a South East Asian transit system.
• Support for a harmonised approach to education
• in Lao PDR by developing the Education Sector Development Framework as part of the multi-donor Technical Advisory team;
• in Indonesia through continuing and building the current productive collaboration.
• Explore opportunities for further collaboration on trade-related assistance, including in
• Vietnam , through the Beyond WTO program
• Lao PDR , by working closely, in conjunction with the World Bank, to progress implementation of activities under the Trade Development Facility.
• Contribute to improving the humanitarian situation for the people of Burma / Myanmar , by working together in areas such as health and basic education and preparations for the multi-donor livelihoods fund.
• Support for a comprehensive disaster risk reduction strategy and joint implementation plan for the Pacific Region.
• Promote sustainable management and use of forestry and fisheries resources , including in:
• Papua New Guinea , in the spirit of the PNG Commitment on Aid Effectiveness and supporting/utilising the Papua New Guinea Development Partners forum on climate change, by ensuring EU-Australia coordination and support for national efforts in sustainable forest management;
• Solomon Islands , by enhancing coordination on activities in the forestry sector, including by providing assistance to land reform and EU-Australia coordination and support for national efforts in sustainable forest management;
• Indonesia , by continuing EU-Australia coordination and support for national efforts in sustainable forest management and development of certification;
• ensuring EU-Australia cooperation and support to strengthen the East Asia and Pacific Forest Law Enforcement and Governance process;
• ensuring EU-Australia collaboration on measures to limit fishing capacity in the western and central Pacific Ocean to levels that provide for the long-term sustainable use of tuna resources, thereby resulting in opportunities for economic development and greater food security for Pacific Island Countries.
• Collaboration on energy programs that assist in the development of sustainable and resilient energy sectors, particularly energy efficiency, energy sector governance and renewable energy sources; support the participation of oil, gas and mining producer countries in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative .
• Work closely with the donor community, including through the Pacific Private Sector Development Donor Group (European Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank/IFC and New Zealand), to coordinate private sector development and trade liberalisation and facilitation in the Pacific, particularly the development of a shared and strategic approach to the provision of regional facilities.
• Examine options for further cooperation on regional interfaith dialogue activities.

29 October 2008