Australia-Taiwan Hydrogen Trade and Investment Dialogue
Australian Office Taipei
29 July 2021
Remarks by Representative Jenny Bloomfield
The Australian Office is very pleased to be hosting today’s Australia-Taiwan Hydrogen Trade and Investment Dialogue, in partnership with Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Australia and Taiwan share rich Indigenous histories, open, diverse, democratic societies, and a commitment to the rules-based trading system and to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
We share a friendship, and we also share a strong trade and economic partnership – two-way trade reached 20 billion Australian dollars in 2019, and two-way investment has just passed 30 billion Australian dollars, in fields as diverse as energy, food and agriculture, and biotechnology. Our partnership helps underpin jobs, growth and economic prosperity for both our economies.
Despite our recent outbreaks, Australia and Taiwan’s management of COVID, and of our economies, has been world-leading, and COVID has only strengthened our partnership.
This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Australian Office in Taiwan.
For four decades and more, Australia has been proud to be Taiwan’s largest provider of energy and resources. And we believe that now is the time to take our partnership to the next level, as we work together to transition to zero emissions through technology.
Hydrogen will be a key fuel in the new energy economy, and today’s Dialogue will help drive this exciting new component of our long-standing partnership.
Thank you again for joining us today, and I wish you productive discussions.