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“It’s a privilege and honour to represent Australia’s universities at a meeting of some of our key economic and strategic partners,” Mr Sheehy said.

“Education has and will continue to play a central role in strengthening and growing Australia’s relationships in our region, and we welcome the government’s support for the role we play.

“Changing demographics and evolving workforce needs are driving strong demand for education and our universities are well placed to continue meeting the region’s educational needs.

“Australia already welcomes thousands of students from Southeast Asia to our shores and our universities are increasingly taking Australian education to the region.

“More of this is needed in a rapidly changing and complex strategic and economic environment.

“We look forward to continuing to work with government and industry to ensure education remains front and centre of our foreign policy agenda to help support a safe and prosperous region.”