LONDON, 21 January 2022, (TON): Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne have agreed to closer cooperation to offer clean, reliable and transparent finance for investment in infrastructure that meets the needs and priorities of our Indo-Pacific partners.

The new agreement will deepen the UK and Australia’s cooperation on infrastructure investment across the Indo-Pacific, setting the scope for joint and complementary financing and technical assistance for high-standard development projects such as disaster resilient and climate adapted infrastructure.

Truss and Payne signed the Memorandum of Understanding today, during Truss’s visit to Australia for AUKMIN and after a roundtable with private investors in Sydney.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said “the UK and Australia are natural partners, and we are determined to play a positive and proactive role by financing and delivering clean infrastructure that is reliable and honest.”

The UK is committed to building a ‘network of liberty’ and that means championing democracy by supporting countries in the Indo-Pacific to resolve their development needs.