Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee

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The Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee (AJBCC) is an active group of top Australian business persons that has developed over 49 years into one of the most valuable elements in strengthening Australia-Japan ties.

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At many levels – political, commercial, security and people-to-people – the bilateral Australia – Japan relationship has grown significantly in these opening years of the twenty-first century.

The political leadership of both countries have engaged in regular bilateral exchanges and this has increased the common awareness of the valuable role that our countries, as the two democratic, OECD developed economies anchoring the north-south East Asian axis, can play in the region. Such cooperation and collaboration is vitally important as the region moves towards its destiny as being the most dynamic region in the global economy.

In 2006, which was designated the ‘Year of Friendship between Japan and Australia’ by then Prime Ministers Koizumi and Howard, over 1000 events took place to celebrate the value of the relationship. Across both countries, sister-city and sister-state/prefecture agreements and friendship groups / societies demonstrated with vigour just how extensive the people-to-people links had become.

The ‘Complementarity’ of the bilateral commerce of the past decades has been the hallmark of the commercial relationship. Whilst Japan will remain attracted to Australia as a consistent supplier of high quality energy and minerals and a source of safe agricultural products and as a substantial market for its high value automobiles, consumer electronics and construction equipment, there are new complementarities in infrastructure, financial services, education, health, ICT, tourism, and agribusiness and food processing being developed each day.

The signing of the ‘milestone’ Australia-Japan Agreement on Commerce of 1957 underpinned the commercial relationship of the past fifty years. The on-going negotiations of a bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement/Free Trade Agreement is seen as progressing the integration of the two economies and assisting both to collaboratively take advantage of the new opportunities presented by the increasing integration of the East Asian economies.

The Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee (AJBCC) is an active group of top Australian business persons that has developed over 49 years into one of the most valuable elements in strengthening Australia-Japan ties.