PRESS RELEASE
03/09/2021
AUSTRALIA-LATIN AMERICA BUSINESS COUNCIL
Zimi Meka, CEO and Managing Director of Ausenco to Chair the Australia – Peru Business Council (APBC)
Zimi Meka, CEO and Managing Director of Ausenco to Chair the Australian Chapter of the Australia-Peru Business Council from Sept 2021.
Zimi Meka is one of the founding directors of Ausenco Pty Ltd and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director in 1999.
Zimi’s background includes senior roles in engineering and operations companies prior to the formation of Ausenco in 1991. He has over 38 years’ experience in the development and operation of a wide range of processing plants and infrastructure in the minerals industry in Australia and internationally.
He is the Queensland University of Technology’s 2008 Alumnus of the Year, was awarded the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’s 2009 Institute Medal and is one of Australia’s top 100 most influential engineers as awarded by Engineers Australia. In 2013 Engineers Australia also named him Queensland Professional Engineer of the Year.
He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2019 Zimi was inducted into the Engineers Australia Hall of Fame.
The Australia-Peru Business Council (APBC) was established in August 2021, by the Australia-Latin America Business Council (ALABC) and the Peruvian Exporters Association (ADEX). The APBC is a high-level panel of senior business leaders with a remit to foster closer economic, trade and investment ties between Australia and Peru.
In his remarks, Mr. Zimi Meka highlighted that the establishment of the APBC marks a new milestone in the consolidation of the business relations between Australia and Peru and that the main objective is to provide a regular forum for the private sector of both countries, to discuss more systematic bilateral business promotional initiatives that lead to increase trade in goods and services and investment between the Peru and Australia. He added that “the current trade and investment figures demonstrate that the existing potential remains largely untapped. An essential role for the Australia-Peru Business Council it is to encourage investor and business confidence and strengthen relations to establish the bases for stable growth that is beneficial for both countries”
Meka mentioned “Latin America has been growing in economic importance for Australia in recent years. Peru signed a free trade agreement with Australia in 2019 and Australian companies hold significant investments in that nation. This basis for exchange has only been bolstered through both countries’ membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership – an accord that also includes Chile and Mexico. Australia and Peru also shared common goals in APEC. Peru is also a member of the Pacific Alliance, a growing market for Australian goods and services.
The President of ALABC, Richard Andrews mentioned that this is the fourth binational business advisory group created by ALABC, following Chile, Central America and Mexico. The bilateral business councils are unique instances of private sector cooperation, coordination and consultation whose objective is to increase business between two countries. They are made up of senior business leaders and executives of companies that have significant investments or trade flows with the countries that act as counterparts.
Australian companies with presence in Peru are: Ausenco, MMG, ORICA, IFM Investors and Mining Plus, to name a few.
