Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a permanent resident of Australia
I would like to submit my suggestion for
foreign policy white paper.
Australia’s foreign policy can fetch more social, economic, cultural benefits by tapping
global and regional opportunities. In my opinion the foreign policy should could achieve
this by focusing on the following:
1. Being a multicultural country, Australia can promote peace and prosperity both in
the country and the region by rebuilding social ties with South Asian countries. This
would help in peace building and deradicalization both in Australia and rest of the
world. For instance, the relationship with South Asian countries (like Pakistan) will
bring cultural diversity and create social harmony. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan
have a long history Australia) as they shared cultural heritage through cameleers in
the past. This would also help to combat with instability beyond the borders.
2. There are enormous business investment opportunities in South Asia, which
needs to be tapped through clever and timely investment decisions. For
instance, the recent development in regional cooperation in South Asia like
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is offering enormous investment
opportunities in Pakistan. Australia can reap lot of benefits by investing mineral,
infrastructure, education, agriculture, and dairy sectors as there is huge business
potential. CPEC investments are also substantiating the existence of a geographic
advantage in Pakistan. For instance, China has recently shown interest in investing
in coal-fired power plants in Pakistan, and one of the sources of coal could be
Australia. Moreover, Investment in clean energy has a great potential of
Australian venture. The regulatory environment in Pakistan is more business
friendly and have less restrictive environment in terms of foreign ownership,
repatriation of profits or hiring of expatriates and low corporate tax rates and tax
incentives for strategic investments. There is a lot of potential for creating a
knowledge cluster in reviewable energy and agriculture sectors that help in
regional development as well.
3. Education is also a central pillar of Australian economy and international students an
important source of universities funding. Pakistan has become one of the top
contributors to Australian international student population with number of
enrolments on the rise every year. The total number of Pakistani students in
different Australian educational institutions have increased significantly and this
number has grown to 55,588 adding the total Pakistani community above 100,000.
Australia can attract explore Pakistani talent through its educational diplomacy. This
will not only help to increase revenues for university research but also attract talent
who could contribute to Australian economy. Pakistan is also producing highest per
capita medical students who are talented and have proven their abilities and
professional skills around the world. The presence of Pakistani medical practitioners
in USA and UK is very high as compared to Australia. The issue of demand and supply
shortfall in the country can be resolved shortfall by inviting more medical
professionals form South Asia.
I would be happy to provide more information on the above points if required.
Sincerely,
Shabbir Ahmad