This week in Australian foreign affairs: Wong announces $3 million for humanitarian relief for Vietnam in the wake of Typhoon Yagi; new Consul-General for Surabaya; new Ambassador to the Organization of American States, and more.

On 12 September Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy released a statement announcing support for Vietnam in the wake of Typhoon Yagi. The Australian Government will provide Vietnam with $3 million for humanitarian relief, emergency supplies and other essential services. These will be delivered through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership in concert with local organisations supporting the most affected communities and the most vulnerable. On 11 September, Australian emergency relief supplies were delivered on a Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster, including essential provisions for families such as shelter and hygiene kits. According to the statement, “Typhoon Yagi is the most powerful storm to hit northern Vietnam in over three decades. Ongoing heavy rainfall in the mountainous regions has led to severe flooding and landslides causing widespread destruction and loss of life. More than 150 deaths have been reported and more than 9,500 houses and 550 health facilities damaged. Around 19 million people live in the affected provinces. Two million school children are at risk of disruption to learning.”

On 7 September, Wong announced the appointment of Mr Glen Askew as Australia’s next Consul-General in Surabaya. “Askew is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Assistant Director, Israel-Gaza Taskforce. He has previously served overseas in Papua New Guinea, Ghana and Indonesia and was a Peacekeeper with Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti and the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) with the Australian Federal Police/United Nations.” Surabaya is Indonesia’s second largest city, with Central and East Java contributing almost one-third of “national GDP and comprising a combined population of over 70 million people. The Consulate-General in Surabaya is working to strengthen two-way trade and investment by implementing initiatives under Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, as well expanding people-to-people ties in a powerhouse region of Indonesia.”

In a media release on 7 September, Wong also announced the appointment of Mr Jason Robertson as Australia’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS). Robertson is a senior career officer and is currently Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC. He has previously served as “Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Beijing and as Consul-General in Guangzhou. He has had earlier postings to Australian diplomatic missions in Beijing, Islamabad and Belgrade and served in Sarajevo, Pristina and New York with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations.” Australia has Permanent Observer status at the OAS, which has 34 Members and 75 Permanent Observers. Robertson will be Australia’s first Ambassador to the organisation.

Minister for Trade and Tourism and Special Minister of State Don Farrell joined Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef, Senator Nita Green, and Michael Healy, Queensland Minister for Tourism and Sport to announce the arrival of Global business event buyers to Tropical North Queensland. In a media release on 9 September, Farrell, Green, and Healy addressed the Australia Next platform, Tourism Australia’s signature incentive showcase. Last year’s event in Adelaide generated 212 business leads across the country, worth $192 million to date. “Over a four day program, international business events buyers and media will meet Australian industry sellers to learn about Australia’s unique, world-class offering and why their next events should be here.” According to the statement, “in addition to Australia Next, Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund Program helps secure new international business events in Australia. To date it has helped to win 149 events with a direct economic value of around A$967 million […] Visitors arriving in Australia for an international business event collectively spent a total of $4.6 billion in the 12 months to the end of March 2024.”

On 10 September, Farrell joined Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins to announce new market access to Vietnam, adding plums to existing trade for peaches and nectarines. According to the statement, the “development is part of a two-way agricultural market access agreement that provides Australian plums to Vietnam and Vietnamese passionfruit to Australia.” Vietnam has become a “key diversification market for Australian exporters and focus of Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Strategy to 2040.” Australia’s “agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports to Vietnam were worth $3.7 billion in 2023-24, with growing trade for stone fruit to further solidify the relationship with our sixth largest export market.”

Dr Adam Bartley is the managing editor for AIIA’s Australian Outlook and weekly columnist for The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and non-resident fellow at the Elliot School for International Affairs, the George Washington University. Adam also has positions as post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation RMIT University  and as program manager of the AI Trilateral Experts Group. He can be found on Twitter here.

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