Breakfast Reception with the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.

[5 August 2019]

AustCham Korea recently hosted the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Simon Birmingham with a breakfast reception at the Four Seasons Hotel.

The sold-out breakfast, which attracted senior members from the Australian-Korean business community provided an opportunity for the Minister to update attendees on Australia’s trade and investment policy priorities and identify areas of future growth under the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA).

On his first visit to Korea as the Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister, the Hon. Birmingham aimed to advance our already strong trade and economic relationship by promoting further export opportunities with our fourth largest trading partner.

“Korea is one of our key export markets, with exports in goods and services totalling more than $24 billion last year,” Minister Birmingham said.

“Our landmark free trade agreement with Korea, signed by our Government in 2014, has seen huge volumes of high-quality Australian beef and premium wine made available in Korean restaurants and supermarket shelves.

“There are also opportunities for further growth in our economic relationship, particularly in areas such as financial services, healthcare and energy.

“With Australia looking to become a leader in hydrogen energy through our continued investment in hydrogen supply chains, there is significant potential for Australia to become a major and reliable exporter of hydrogen energy to countries such as Korea.”

During his visit, the Minister also met with Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung Hee and South Korean steelmaker and AustCham Korea Sponsor, POSCO.