In-country Partners
Over the past four years, we have built strong relationships with many governments and water ministries and agencies in the Indo-Pacific region with the assistance of DFAT Posts. Most notable have been with Myanmar, India and Vietnam. For India and Myanmar, an AWP Investment Strategy has been developed to ensure that water management needs are captured, prioritised and addressed in a systematic and coordinated manner.
In-country partnerships generally operate under bilateral government-to-government Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or the Department of Agriculture. Where possible, linking AWP activities to these MoUs contributes to strengthening diplomatic ties between Australia and countries in the region.
Not all AWP interactions with In-country Partners operate formally under the banner of an MoU, and in many instances there is no need for an MoU. Activities are often carried out in response to an immediate request for short-term assistance, to which AWP is able to respond since its governance and investment arrangements allow for such agility and responsiveness.