Ms. Deborah Stokes, Australian High Commissioner-designate to Papua New Guinea made a courtesy call on H.E. Datin Seri Blanche Olbery, High Commissioner of Malaysia as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corp on 21 March, 2013 at the Malaysian High Commission.
The two heads of mission exchanged views on investment in Papua New Guinea, Australia’s development assistance via AusAID, health and education assistance to Papua New Guinea and latest update on ASEAN.
Ambassador Stokes is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and was most recently head of the Department’s International Organisations and Legal Division. She has previously served as Australia’s Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna, and as Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo. Ambassador Stokes also held positions at the Australian Embassy in Yangon, United Nations Development Programme in New York and AusAID.
Australia has a long-term commitment to Papua New Guinea’s development. Australia is Papua New Guinea’s largest aid donor, providing AUD 491.7 million in development assistance in 2012/13.
