Posted on March 31, 2021.
Founded after the 2004 tsunami, the forum that brings together the United States, India, Australia and Japan met recently, for the first time at a head of state level. This elevation of the political stature of the “Quad” allowed Joe Biden to highlight three fundamental points in the return of America to the world stage.
First, the Indo-Pacific region is the central axis of his strategic alliances, be they military, commercial, logistical or public health related. The challenges presented by China’s ambition and the consolidation of Europe’s stability are nudging American foreign policy and national security considerations in that direction. It was not a coincidence that the United Kingdom, just days later, placed the Indo-Pacific region at the center of its post-Brexit strategic interests, keeping pace with the American stance and increasing the pressure on those European capitals that have been hyper-expectant about America’s renewal of ties w
Australia’s campaign to win enough votes for Mathias Cormann to lead the OECD was a case study in the dark arts of diplomacy and power of personal relationships.
Sources familiar with the campaign who spoke on the condition of anonymity say the kitchen sink was thrown at some members, like the United States, which Morrison, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and ambassador Arthur Sinodinos all targeted. Sinodinos was Howardâs long-serving chief of staff and the veteran operatorâs wily ways were crucial to opening the doors to the new Biden administration. Western Australia Governor Kim Beazley also called Democrats he knew from his own ambassadorial stint in Washington to make the case for Cormann.
Cormann slipped into the US following President Joe Bidenâs inauguration in January for five days of meetings with senior officials, including at the White House. Effort went into making sure the visit stayed under-the-radar given Cormannâs travel through Europe on a Royal Australian Air Force jet had caused controversy in November.
Mathias Cormann. Photo: AAP /Mick Tsikas
13 March 2021 10:58am
Australia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann has been elected as the new head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The 50-year-old will become the first person from Asia-Pacific to lead the Paris-based, 37-nation organisation, and takes the role in the middle of one of the worst global recessions on record.
“It would be a privilege and an honour to take on the leadership of the OECD … it brings together like-minded countries from around the world committed to developing and delivering better policies for better lives,” Mr Cormann said in a statement.