Australia’s new High Commissioner to Fiji John Feakes presented his credentials this morning to the President Jioji Konrote.
Feakes says he was honoured to represent Australia in Fiji and said he had arrived in Fiji at an exciting time when relations between Australia and Fiji were growing strongly.
Feakes says he is looking forward to working with the Fijian government to strengthen the relationship in trade, tourism, development cooperation, defence, disaster response, climate change, seasonal workers and many other areas.
Over 65,000 Fijians live in Australia and more than 360,000 Australians visit Fiji annually.
Australia is also one of Fiji's most significant economic partners with two-way goods and services trade showing steady increase year-on-year, totaling FJD2.77 billion in 2016.
Australia is one of Fiji's largest bilateral aid donors, providing over FJD$118 million in development assistance in 2016-2017, including ongoing response to Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Feakes is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and was most recently High Commissioner to Kenya.
Other overseas posts he has served at include Lebanon, Jordan, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and the United States.
