Let me start by thanking the European Australian Business Council for hosting this event.

Madam Governor of New South Wales, Mr President of the Legislative Council, Minister.

Excellencies, Representatives of Australian and European companies, Ladies and gentlemen,

It is such a pleasure to be in Sydney here today.

First of all, let me acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet.

And pay my respect to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

I also extend that respect to any First Nations people joining us today.

This city is very proud of its unique culture and heritage, and rightly so.

I'm so impressed by the vibrant aboriginal culture and heritage of this city.

At the same time, Sydney is a global hub. People from all continents

have come and met here over the centuries.

Every part of Sydney proves how deeply Australia and Europe are connected.

Your iconic opera house was designed, as you know, by a Danish architect.

One of the liveliest districts is named after a German geologist,

Ludwig Leichhardt, you pronounce it certainly differently.

It is home to some great Italian restaurants.

And when I look into the audience,

I see representatives of so many companies doing business on both our continents.

Some European firms have been here since before Australia became a federation in 1901.

Today, more than 3000 European companies operate in every sector of the Australian economy.

You invest, you employ, you innovate across oceans.

You make both Australia and Europe much stronger than we could ever be on our own. So my point is very simple.

What binds Australia and Europe is more than history.

It is how closely our societies are woven together.

This closeness rests on a shared way of seeing the world.

We both believe in free competition on global markets, but it must be fair. We believe in the power of technology. It must always be guided by values.

We believe that we may live in different hemispheres. But our security is connected.

This is what brings us together here today.

Australia is more than a like minded friend to Europe.

In recent years, you have been an inspiration.

You were among the first to face economic coercion. And export controls.

When similar pressure was put on Europe, We drew directly on your experience. And your refusal to give in.

You were the first in the world to protect children on social media.

Protecting our children in a world that has become an important matter also for the European Commission.

Now several European countries are following your lead.

When Russian tanks rolled into a peaceful European country, you didn't just condemn the aggression. You became the largest contributor contributor. Ukraine supporter outside of NATO. To me, this is the essence. Of the Australian spirit.

If I may say, taking words from your language, you stand by your mates.

Australia and Europe don't just think the same. We believe in the same values.

We know we can always trust each other. We act in unison side by side.

Because progress is forged by choices we make. And the courage to make them together.

So yes, Australia may be far away from Europe on the map. But we are very close at heart.

Ladies and gentlemen, Partnerships like ours are more important than ever in today's volatile world trust,

as we've said. Is a precious currency. In actually increasingly short supply. The value of trust.

It is not only political, but also, of course, economic.

War in the Middle East is rocking the entire global economy.

This is not only about oil and gas.

You know that so many other value chains risk being disrupted,

from fertilisers to food, to the chemical industry, you just name it.

This comes on top of the other supply chain shocks.

We have all suffered in the recent months.

Tariffs and export controls have already brought disruption.

In your business plans and on your factory floors. Trade, investment and technology are being weaponized.

For years now, the global economy has become more and more competitive.

But now it feels like we have reached a tipping point.

We are no longer just in a race for primacy. This is a fight. Companies and countries across the world.

Are now factoring in this new level of volatility. We are all at work.

To address the choke points in our supply chains,

we are all looking for new markets for our exports and for business partners we can truly trust.

As a result, Global trade is not retreating. But rerouting.

As Australia's Lowy Institute has put it,

This is the moment of resilience diplomacy. That is the art. Of working with partners.

To resist shocks And to build new alliances for growth.

This is exactly what Europe is doing right now, with a very specific focus on the Indo Pacific.

Tensions in the Indo Pacific are mounting mounting.

But this remains the most dynamic region in the world. Let me give you three figures.

It is home to 60% of the global population.

It is the heart of global trade routes.

It boasts many of the fastest growing economies in the world.

With countries like India, Vietnam, or Tanzania now outpacing China.

We Europeans want to tap into this dynamism.

Our offer is clear we are not just the 2nd largest economy in the world.

We are one of the largest foreign investors in the region. And our presence is only growing.

Most importantly, This is what all of us are looking for. We are reliable. And we are predictable.

So basically, with Europe, what you see is what you get.

This is what partners across the world are looking for.

This is why, in just one year, we have had, we call it a big bang of new trade deals.

Like the incredible new trade deal, new free trade agreement with Australia,

indeed, which we yesterday just put in place and announced.

The new agreement with Indonesia we concluded last summer.

Last month I was in India for what was called the mother of all deals.

We are also making progress with the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.

And with these agreements we are building a global community.

That is committed to free and fair trade.

We want to expand this community even more.

For instance, by cooperating with the 12 members of the CPTPP, as you know, the Trans Pacific Partnership. Together we could foster. Rules-based trade across 4 continents.

We can become A global reference point for stability. And economic security.

And Australia holds a central place in our strategy of regional engagement.

Already today Europe is Australia's 3rd largest trading partner. And 2nd largest foreign investor. But beyond the quantity of our exchanges. Is the quality that matters. Our standards are aligned like no others.

Be it on environmental protection, on labour rights, on online safety, we speak the same language.

But, as one of you put it, Our economic relationship was running on old software. So I've come here to change this.

And with this new mega deal, That can bring our partnership to the next level. We want to move on.

Let me focus on 3 key aspects of it first,

investment, second, raw materials, and third, security.

To my first point, indeed, yesterday with Prime Minister Albanese, we concluded negotiations for a free trade agreement.

We are eliminating tariffs on 100% of our trade,

zero tariffs on both sides. There will be no more export restrictions. No more export monopolies. No export taxes.

The deal can add almost €4 billion to European GDP by 2030,

and I was told almost 8 billion Australian dollars to your GDP, but I just heard AUD10 billion. So it's growing already since 24 hours. Exchange rate.

Indeed, this seems to be the economic power of our closer friendship.

But the investment component of the deal is just as important.

Today, European companies operate in Australia at a corporate disadvantage.

They face higher tariffs than companies from Asia.

There are also barriers to foreign investments from Europe.

Because the screening thresholds are 3 or 4 times lower. Than for our competitors.

So until now, It was much easier for a Chinese company to invest here. For a European company. But no longer.

Our FTA will liberalise investment flows in both directions.

This also means new investment opportunities in Europe for Australians. You have the Australian superannuation funds.

That are now the 4th largest pension pool in the world,

with assets close to €3 trillion. These funds are increasingly turning towards Europe. Because of our stability. And because of our high sustainability standards.

So now we can attract even more of them, bringing welcome capital to European companies.

So you see, from these few points taken out of the free trade agreement,

this is a true win win situation we have created.

So what we are basically doing is we are turning our mutual trust into tangible benefits.

The same goes for raw materials, and that is my second point.

As you know, Australia has a vast supply of the most critical minerals.

As your Prime Minister said, you have pretty much the entire periodic table. Including the world's largest supply of lithium.

But we also know that China controls most of the global capacity for processing. And refining.

Much of the added value of your natural resources. Ends up leaving Australia.

And this is where our deal comes into play.

Australia and Europe have already started joining forces in this field.

2 years ago we signed a raw materials partnership.

As a result, your companies have already struck agreements to export critical raw materials,

critical rare earth for magnets into Europe.

Just recently, the European Investment Bank has agreed with your government to invest in mineral projects in Australia,

actually the first time that the European Investment Bank is investing outside the European Union in a country that is not a developing country,

so we do not start from scratch.

But our new trade deal can supercharge our cooperation. We are now removing tariffs.

Not only on raw materials, but on finished products.

With no limits to European investment in Australia.

We can invest together to develop local processing and higher value manufacturing.

So together we can remove many of the bottlenecks that currently choke our value chains.

Some may ask why should Australia and Europe integrate their value chains? After all, we are so far away. I believe the answer is straightforward. And it is once again.

About trust And about values For both of us,

raw materials must be sourced and traded responsibly.

A new agreement includes a very clear commitment from both of us. In every joint project. We will always protect nature. And the rights of local communities.

This is what like mindedness means in practise.

It is, of course, a message to investors if you want sustainability and predictability,

Australia and Europe are open for business for you. Ladies and gentlemen, to my final point. Greater economic cooperation between us. It is of course a no-brainer.

Today I am not only here for a free trade agreement.

Our partnership is indeed entering a new era also. On security and defence. The reason for this is clear.

The security needs of Europe and Australia are closer than ever before.

We both want the conflict in the Gulf to de escalate.

We both want to avoid new escalations elsewhere in the Indo Pacific.

The Indo Pacific is now the world's security cockpit. Tensions there.

Pose a direct challenge to European trade and prosperity.

More than 40% Of European imports are from the Indo Pacific.

Taiwan produces 60% of the world's semiconductors and 90% of the most advanced chips. Security and stability in your region.

Matters to Europe and of course matters to the whole world.

Just like you, we have also followed with concern.

The movements of the Chinese flotilla that sailed right around Australia.

In this new reality, Australia's role as a beacon of peace and stability. Is even more important to us.

Already last year, European countries joined Australia's freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea. And the talisman sabre training mission. And the time was ripe.

To take our security cooperation to the next level.

This is the reason why I launched the idea of a full security and defence partnership between Australia and Europe.

We managed to conclude negotiations in just one year.

This only confirms the sense of urgency on both sides.

So what will we do with this partnership?

Not only will we hold joint military exercises on land and at sea.

We will also pool our expertise on hybrid threats. And cybersecurity. We will cooperate on counterterrorism. And online radicalization.

Crucially, the security and defence partnership can boost both our defence industries.

European defence firms already have a major presence here in Australia.

Thalis, for example, has almost 3800 employees across 35 sites making munitions,

sonar, and reinforced vehicles.

Rheinmetall is the largest supplier of military vehicles to the Australian Defence Forces.

MBDA has announced that Australia could soon be the first overseas producer. For its advanced Mistral air defence systems.

Australian firms are also a key part of European defences, like, for example,

DroneShield, which supplies anti drone technology to European armed forces, in contrast. Now, with the new partnership.

We open the possibility to involve each other in our respective defence initiatives, and this, of course,

could create new economies of scale for our defence industries, boosting production and bringing costs down.

This is a new foundation for defence industrial cooperation.

Even though we are separated by thousands of miles of ocean. This shows how close we have become.

And how far we can go when we work together.

So ladies and gentlemen, Let me go back to where I started.

I said that Australia has often been an inspiration for Europe in the recent years.

One thing that does inspire me is your concept of mateship. When things get hard, You bond together. You're mates.

And this is the same spirit that brings me to Australia.

As I've said, the world we live in is conflictual. It is competitive. Old alliances are put into question. We Europeans know who we can trust.

And we know that this is a true mateship between Australia and Europe.

So thank you very much, and I'm very much looking forward to working together with you. Thanks a lot.