Australia’s new Ambassador to Greece Alison Duncan met with The Greek Herald‘s Publisher Dimitra Skalkos and Digital Editor Andriana Simos in Sydney on Wednesday.
Ms Duncan, who is also accredited to Bulgaria and Romania, will take over from outgoing Ambassador Arthur Spyrou when she arrives in Athens, Greece in early July.
Ms Duncan is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Assistant Secretary of the Consular Communications and Policy Branch. She has previously served overseas in Indonesia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands.
During the meeting with Ms Skalkos and Miss Simos, Ms Duncan discussed her top priorities as Ambassador and said she will follow discussions around the Double Taxation Agreement between Australia and Greece, and increasing Australian investments in Greece.
Ms Duncan also spoke passionately about her ideas for strengthening the bilateral relationship between Greece and Australia through Greek language initiatives, the arts, and more educational partnerships between tertiary institutions.
At the end of the meeting, Ms Skalkos presented Ms Duncan with two editions of The Greek Herald‘s print newspaper, including a special edition on ANZAC Day. Ms Duncan is connected to Gallipoli and the Greek island of Lemnos during WWI through her great-grandfather.
“The Greek Herald welcomes the appointment of Ms Duncan as Australia’s new Ambassador to Greece and we look forward to working together in future to continue informing our readers of important government initiatives aimed at the Greek diaspora,” Ms Skalkos said after the meeting.
“We wish Ms Duncan and her team all the best in her posting.”