The Diplomat in Spain

Photo: AR

Julie-Ann Guivarra / Australia’s Ambassador to Spain

Alberto Rubio. 08/08/2018

Julie-Ann Guivarra says she would be happy if, at the end of her mission, Australia and Spain had increased their interaction at all levels. She is the first indigenous Australian Ambassador to Spain, and the first with a, maybe, distant Spanish relative who long time ago sailed along her native Torres Strait.

How would you describe the Australian-Spanish relationship in the last 50 years?

Relations have been very strong for a long time, but particularly in the last ten years in certain aspects, such as trade. We share many common values with Spain and we share the same commitments to the international system, so the relationship is very good. I will give you an example: both Australia and Spain were elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the term 2018-2020. And we have something in common to talk about.

On the commercial side, we have a lot of investment of Spanish companies in Australia, and that has been growing over the last decade. Interestingly -and this is something that was picked up during the visit of our Governor-General and the Australian-European Business Council (EABC)- Australian companies are starting to be interested again in Spain. In 2018, a very large pensions fund in Australia, called IFM, invested €1.02 billion in utilities in Spain (this is in addition to an investment in OHL Concessions of €2.16 billion earlier in 2018). Banks are starting to see opportunities in the Spanish market again. The EABC delegation saw a recovery of the economy. So I think this is one of the areas which is growing and strong.

Which fields do you foresee will benefit more from this growing bilateral relationship?

Education has been a growing market for Australian service providers. Many Spanish students are in Australia learning English as a second language, but we also have seen Spanish students participating in vocational educational training. We are of course interested in higher education opportunities. We have some Australian students here. As part of the 50^th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries, our Working Holiday Maker Arrangement program increased to 1,500 places per year. It has been a hugely successful program both ways. What we have seen is that students are using this opportunity to work, study and see each other’s countries, which is a nice thing to do.

Traditionally Spanish investment in Australia has been in the infrastructure and renewable energies areas, which can continue to grow. Defence industry is another area in which there has been a strong relationship with Navantia in the last decade. The Australian Government has recently launched its Defence Strategy, and there are Spanish and Australian companies interested in working together in this area, where there is a big potential.

Did Brexit have anything to do with the fact that Australia chose the British offer for your Navy’s frigates program?

Navantia has produced a number of different vessels for Australia, such as landing helicopter docks and anti-air warfare destroyers. We also have auxiliary oiler replenishment vessels being built in Ferrol. This is quite a long-standing relationship which still continues. And we have a strong relationship between our Navies, that cooperate very regularly and closely. Last year we had the Spanish frigate Cristobal Colón embedded for the first half of the year with the Royal Australian Navy conducting training exercises off the Australian coast.  We also had a visit to Sydney by Minister María Dolores de Cospedal whilst the frigate was berthed in Australia. That gives you an indication of the level of the relationship.

Is the door still open to future projects?

Absolutely, yes. Defence is one of the areas with the most potential for growth.

Would agriculture be another sector of interest for Australia?

We are interested in exploring those opportunities. In Australia’s case, our agriculture sector is very export dependant. We have a very small population in Australia and we are an efficient agriculture producer. So, as around 70% of our production is exported, which is a significant amount, we do need export markets. Now the majority of our products are exported to our neighbours in Asia.

The interesting thing about agriculture is that we both need to rely on irrigation for our agriculture production, and we both need to adapt to climate change.

Is there a water problem in Australia?

Yes, absolutely. We are a very arid, dry country. In fact, we have to develop adaptation methods because we have droughts regularly in Australia including right now. Therefore, there are areas in agriculture with a great potential to learn from each other.

Greenhouses?

Yes. My impression is that Spain has a significant greenhouse industry. Australia has good irrigation systems but not many greenhouses, so it would be interesting to know more about the Spanish experience.

To what extent is the European Union attractive for Australia?

Europe is our second largest source of investment. For that reason, a Free Trade Agreement with the EU is very important for us. Negotiations started the same day that our Governor-General visited Spain. Last year our Foreign Minister launched a Foreign Policy White Paper, which captures the major trends or challenges, and one of them is the increasing protectionist tendencies. In the dialogue we have with our EU colleagues we both share values, as well as our concern about rising protectionism. We try to maintain a dialogue with all of our trading partners with which we share a similar outlook.

I guess the Australian Government is worried about the current US stance on international trade.

We think the best way to deal with all these kinds of issues is dialogue. We very openly and firmly defend an international rules-based trading system. That is why we have completed so many trade agreements in our region, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP), and we have the FTA negotiations underway with the EU, because these things send a message about the importance of the international rules-based system. We will continue to raise these issues.

You are the first female indigenous Australian Ambassador to Spain. Do you feel happy about how things are going for minorities? Could multilateral initiatives help?

I always think more can be done and certainly the Australian Government continues to make improvements in education, health, and in many other fields. We support the multilateral system but really, at the end of the day, it is the countries themselves the ones that have to do things at home. And we do try to make those efforts at home.

Which could be the outcome with which you would be happier at the end of your mission?

I would love to see a lot more high-level interaction between our two governments, as well as in business-to-business. I also wish for people, both Australian and Spanish, to understand each other better. If I can help in those aspects in the next few years, then I will feel we will have been successful. It will be a job reasonably well done.