Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos AO, gave an online briefing about the current political and economic situation in the US to over 100 people from Australia’s business and community groups on Wednesday morning.
During the briefing, which was organised by Business Sydney, Ambassador Sinodinos spoke broadly about the US economy and rising inflation in the country, as well as the upcoming mid-term elections on November 8 this year.
He also touched on the current Ukraine-Russia crisis and how it has led to the “deterioration” of the international strategic environment and rules-based order.
“What’s preoccupied the US administration is not only shoring up allies and partners to address the threat that Russia poses in Ukraine, but also thinking through the implications of that for China and our own region,” the Ambassador said.
“These circumstances are bringing Australia and the US closer together. The relationship has always been in pretty good shape but what’s been happening, particularly in recent times, has meant that our levels of cooperation and how we work together is increasing at a pace I haven’t seen in a very long time.”
Ambassador Spyrou then listed a number of areas where the US and Australia have strengthened their cooperation including with the AUKUS and ANZUS agreements, as well as the QUAD security partnership in the Indo Pacific, and in the areas of emerging technologies and strong supply chains.
“These are concrete illustrations of where I think Australia can have a strategic advantage in the US and then that builds on other advantages that we have,” he continued.
“Don’t underestimate Australian innovation, science and research. We punch above our weight internationally.
“The great advantage of doing stuff in the US is they have the deepest and most liquid capital pools in the world so it’s a great source of investment for bringing together Australian ideas and US resources.”
During question time, the Australian Ambassador was asked to elaborate on these issues and was also questioned about the current US stance on the Cyprus issue to which he replied: “I don’t get the impression it’s an issue the US itself is directly wanting to intervene in at the moment.”
READ MORE: Arthur Sinodinos: US perceives Australia as a strong ally after stand against China.
