Diplomatic Corps visit to Far North Queensland
From 14 to 16 May, we will showcase Far North Queensland business and tourism by hosting a delegation of around 75 Canberra-based Ambassadors and High Commissioners in Cairns.
This visit will provide foreign representatives with an insight into the diversity and dynamism of Queensland's economy, so they can better inform their home countries of the many trade and investment opportunities available.
Cairns is the economic and services hub of Far North Queensland, a vast and diverse area with a Gross Regional Production greater than $7.8 billion. The region boasts substantial resource and agricultural production – ranging from bauxite to beef – as well as significant aquaculture capacity and world-class education services. Tourism is also a major sector, with the region's rainforests and coral reefs attracting more than 2,797,000 visitors annually.
At a Far North Queensland trade and investment showcase, local businesses will be given the opportunity to directly promote their products and services to the heads of foreign diplomatic missions.
The diplomats will be briefed by Queensland's leaders in innovation, including Queensland Chief Entrepreneur Mark Sowerby, Dr Richard Knuckey who has pioneered breeding and exporting of large tropical fish, and representatives of She Flies, a company promoting science, technology, engineering and maths careers for girls through drone education.
They will also visit the Cairns campus of James Cook University to learn about its world-leading work on strengthening tropical health systems and economic development in northern Australia and the region. The diplomats will see the University's Mosquito Research facility and the Australian Tropical Herbarium to learn about research in biodiversity, tropical plant diseases and eliminating Dengue fever.
We will also take the diplomats to the outer Great Barrier Reef so they can see first-hand the unparalleled efforts being undertaken to protect the Reef.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will host a dinner for the diplomats in Cairns.