The Australian Office in Taipei yesterday announced that its new representative, Jenny Bloomfield, is to take office on Monday.
Bloomfield was director of the Victoria State Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Previously, she served as Australia’s ambassador to Greece and also served in Japan, Argentina and Iran, the office said in a statement.
Photo copied by Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
While she has never visited Taiwan, she can speak Mandarin, as well as Japanese, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian and Farsi, it said.
In announcing the new appointment, the office reaffirmed trade ties and shared values with Taiwan.
“Taiwan’s world-leading epidemic prevention has bolstered its reputation in Australia and on the global stage, and the challenges of the pandemic have deepened our cooperation,” the office said.
“Australia is a long-term, reliable supplier of energy, resources and services to Taiwan,” it said, adding that two-way investment in 2019 reached A$27 billion (US$20.7 billion at the current exchange rate) and trade from 2019 to last year totaled A$19 billion.
“Our interests intersect across many areas, such as education and vocational skills, energy innovation and investment, biotechnology, smart cities and multilateral affairs,” the office said.
Australia is also Taiwan’s second-most popular overseas study destination, it added.
Since 2004, Australia has granted more than 250,000 working holiday visas to allow young Taiwanese to live and work in Australia, office data showed.
Since 2015, the Australian government’s New Colombo Plan has awarded 37 scholarships and 1,007 mobility grants for Australian undergraduates to undertake study and work-based experiences in Taiwan, the data showed.
Outgoing Australian Representative to Taiwan Gary Cowan would return to Australia to take up a new government position, the office said.
Cowan has engaged in local activities, such as mountaineering, biking and swimming across the Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) in Nantou County, during his term in Taiwan.
Last year, he launched a “Rediscover Australia, Rediscover Taiwan” campaign, hoping that both sides would look at each other “afresh,” as he looked ahead to the office’s 40th anniversary in October this year.
At a meeting with Cowan last month, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed the hope that Taiwan and Australia can sign an economic cooperation agreement.
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