Engaging the private sector in aid and development

The Hon Julie Bishop MP, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has launched the Ministerial Statement on engaging the private sector in aid and development - Creating shared value through partnership at Westpac's Sydney headquarters.

The event included a breakfast reception for CEO's of UN Global Compact member companies including Oil Search, Rio Tinto, Westpac, Deloitte Australia, Global Compact Network Australia, KPMG Australia, LeapFrog Investments, David Jones, Westpac, Allens and WorleyParsons. This event provided a unique opportunity for Minister Bishop and DFAT Secretary Peter Varghese to hear from private sector leaders their motivations for collaborating with DFAT in development.

The reception was followed by the launch of the Ministerial Statement on engaging the private sector in aid and development - Creating shared value through partnership attended by over 170 business, government, civil society leaders from Australia and abroad.

The statement outlines the Australian Government's vision for engaging the private sector in aid and development and acknowledges that the private sector has the means and increasingly the motivation to contribute to development outcomes as part of their core business. It invites the private sector to collaborate with the aid program to implement sustainable solutions that tackle development challenges whilst delivering commercial returns.

Minister Bishop also announced three new initiatives designed to scale up DFAT's ability to collaborate with business.

• The Business Partnership Platform, a fund matching program with the private sector for projects that advance Australia's development objectives, the first call for proposals will occur in October 2015
• A partnership with the UN Global Compact Network of Australia to support Australian businesses ability to contribute to sustainable development in our region, with a strong focus on support to business efforts on the Sustainable Development Goals
• A partnership with the Global Reporting Initiative to support business improve their social and sustainability reporting and performance in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and PNG.

For more information see DFAT's Private Sector Partnerships

Media release: Engaging the private sector in aid and development