Visit of the EEAS Managing Director for Asia-Pacific to Australia
Niclas Kvarnström is the recently appointed Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS). Previously he served as the head of the Asia Pacific department at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Sweden’s Ambassador to Singapore from 2018 and 2021. In 2023, during the Swedish government’s rotating EU presidency, Mr Kvarnström hosted the EU Indo-Pacific Forum.
Throughout his Australia visit, Mr Kvarnström engaged in a series of discussions and meetings with key stakeholders in Canberra, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Defence Office of National Intelligence. Meetings with key institutions such as the Lowy Institute, the Commonwealth Club of Australia, and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute provided valuable perspectives on security policy and regional dynamics in the Indo-Pacific.
Mr Kvarnström participated in a fruitful roundtable event hosted by ASPI, where he engaged with China specialists to exchange their insights on evolving geopolitical landscapes.
In his interview with Bloomberg, Mr Kvarnström commented on China’s ongoing support for Russia after its illegal aggression against Ukraine. ‘It’s not something that we can ignore in any of our relationships,’ Mr Kvarnström said. ‘As a geopolitical actor, we have to stand up for ourselves, and that’s what we are doing on the economic imbalances and on our own security.’
Mr Kvarnström commented also on the EU-Australia relations reaffirming that Australia is the EU’s like-minded ally in the Indo-Pacific region.
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