Australia, Mission Accomplished!

During the visit, which took place between 2-6 March, Christopher Gygès  was joined by Guy-Olivier Cuenot,Member of the South Province's Assembly, President of the Economic and Tax Commission, as well as by representatives of economic stakeholders: the Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the export cluster NCT&I. Like the delegation, the mission was broken-down in two sequences: one on diplomatic relations , which took place in Canberra, the other, more focused on economic exchanges in Sydney and Brisbane. "the first meetings with Australian institutional authorities proved that they are  very keen to strengthen ties between  Australia and New Caledonia," declared the Minister. This mutual desire to cooperate could lead to  a reduction of customs duties on some products and services as well as by measures aimed at atracting new investors . Geopolitical issues were also a part of the discussions. "We want to promote New Caledonia's regional position , notably via France's Indo-Pacific Strategy, which of course involves the development of ties with our Australian neighbour," declared Christopher Gygès.

Roundtable with representatives of Queensland Trade and Invest.

Possible Trade Avenues

Trade relations were at the forefront of the two roundtables organized at the Consulat General of France in Sydney.  the first gathered economic actors to discuss possibilities  for a pragmatic and realistic cooperation . Some import/export products  as well as some services were particularly targeted . The second meeting was dedicated to tourism to better grasp Australian travellers' priorities.
The delegation then travelled to Brisbane. A very interesting meeting with QTI (Queensland Trade and Invest) , the equvalent of the export cluster NCT&I identified concrete collaboration opportunities between New Caledonian actors in the renewable energy sector  and their Queensland counterparts.  The last leg of this mission was also an opportunity to discuss the possibility of entering into a cooperation aragreement covering various sectors with the Queensland Government.  "We started a process, in the spirit of friendship and openness, which we hope will bear fruit sometime in 2020," declared Christopher Gygès.

The delegation was welcomed by representatives from the Queensland Government

 "Choose New Caledonia" under the spotlight

A conference on renewable energies and energy transition  took place at the headquarters of the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FACCI) on 5 March.  Christopher Gygès made a speech alongside Allison Carrington, Consul-General of Australia to New Caledonia, the Minister for the Economy and Trade took this opportunity to officially announced the creation of "Choose New Caledonia," a government unit aimed at facilitating foreign investment.

the New Caledonian delegation attended the FACCI Conference

Opening New Caledonia's skies

The New Caledonian delegation met with Qantas Airways and the luxury and eco-friendly cruise company  Aurora Expeditions, to enhance New Caledonia's international image and promote it as a destination. In Brisbane, Christopher Gygès met with representatives of the airline Virgin Australia to discuss the possibility of opening access to New Caledonia's skies to foreign airlines.

AWith the airline Virgin Australia.