General News
27 August, 2025
European delegation tours North West Queensland
Fifteen representatives from the European Union visited the region last week.
North Queensland economic development group MITEZ has hosted a high-powered European Union delegation, highlighting the region’s trade and investment opportunities.
Mount Isa to Townsville Economic Development Zone chief executive officer Maria James said the trip was a success.
“One of MITEZ’s key roles is to connect decision makers,” she said.
“Whether it's within a project, or within government, or in this case with other countries, MITEZ sees strengthening economic and trade ties as an important part of its role in ensuring a globally competitive economy with world-class infrastructure and long-term prosperity of our communities.”
Ms James told guests at a lunch in Mount Isa that “opportunity, opportunity opportunity” was interlocked with “relationships, relationships, relationships”.
“Bringing a 16-member-strong EU economic and trade delegation to the North West to see what the MITEZ corridor has to offer is the first step in strengthening relationships with a significant trading partner,” she said.
“As a bloc, the EU is a massive, high-income market of around 446 million people and Australia’s largest two-way trading partner.
“It’s important both economically and strategically, for both Australia and the EU, that we open opportunities in a highly significant market.”
While she would have liked more time to share what was happening around the region, Ms James said MITEZ had tried to pack in as much as possible during the visit, supported by information packs that group members could refer to afterwards.
She told North West Weekly that MITEZ had latched on to the opportunity to host such a delegation after a comment in a previous meeting with Delegation of the European Union to Australia trade and economic affairs head Joanna Pocztowska.
Ms Pocztowska joined last week’s visit as part of a cohort of embassy, consular and trade group officials from Sweden, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Lithuania, Belgium, Cyprus, Latvia, and Slovakia.
The visit took in points of interest including the George Fisher mine, Harmony Eva Copper and Korella phosphate presentations in Cloncurry, Port of Townsville, the Vecco vanadium electrolyte facility, Cleveland Bay Industrial Park, Sun Metals refinery, and the CopperString Experience Centre.
Interest varied, although critical minerals was always going to be the hot topic, given the region’s riches in that regard and the European market’s attention to the ESG values of sources.
Chatham Rock Phosphate executive director Colin Randall was among the people able to provide a presentation to the group during their visit.
He emphasised the ability to provide a low-cost transport system for the supply of phosphate to Europe through the group’s proposed RailPhos project.
“I hope they will bring the potential of Australia’s phosphate to the attention of their respective fertiliser businesses,” Mr Randall said
“Countries that depended on Russia have in Australia an alternative to South African phosphate, that is high in uranium and thorium.”
