Roundtable with Ambassador Caroline Millar
On Friday 21 March 2023, the Perth USAsia Centre hosted a roundtable discussion with Caroline Millar, Ambassador of Australia to the European Union, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Australia and Europe were close partners, sharing many common interests ranging from climate change, to trade and investment and the global rules-based order. Negotiating the Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement was a top priority for both.
Europe was engaged more closely with the Indo-Pacific region in recent years, further hastened as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the Russia-China “no limits partnership”.
In particular, Europe was turning to countries such as Australia to manage the energy and supply chain fallout from the war. European governments were especially eager to access Australia’s lithium, cobalt, rare earths and other minerals to support Europe in building its green technology sector. Australia in turn could look to attract European investment.
Representatives of Western Australia’s critical minerals industry were well-represented at the roundtable, alongside members of government and civil society.